Effect of soil and water conservation structures on smallholder farmers’ livelihood: Wenago district, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractLow standard of constructed structures, weak land management, unskilled human power, dependency on rain-fed agriculture and natural assets for household farmers’ survival make livelihood systems in the study area complex, dynamic and food insecure. The aim of this research paper was to assess and analyze the effect of physical structures on crop yield, annual income and smallholder farmers livelihood based on the data of 2020 and 2021 harvest years. The data was collected from a survey of 262 total household head farmers of which 132 were structureadopters while 130 were nonadopters (nonusers). Household heads were selected using simple random sampling techniques. The statistical data were analyzed using chi-square, t-test and SPSS version 20 software while the economic data were analyzed using econometric models such as propensity score matching, average treatment effect and logistic regression. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews and personal observations were also held to gather qualitative data. The results show that the adoption of physical structures has had a significant and positive impact on smallholder farmers’ incomes, crop productivity and livelihoods. Therefore, the adoption of physical structures in Wenago district, southern Ethiopia should be continued and encouraged as much as possible.

Keywords

• agriculture
• conservation technologies
• farmers
• livelihood
• soil erosion
• Wenago