Farmers’ perception on the consequences of land degradation

The results indicated that most of the respondents were aware on the consequence of land degradation by indicating the loss of agricultural productivity results from land degradation responded by 90.6% of the population, followed by the difficulty of farming (86.2%) and loss in livestock productivity (75.6%) (Table 8). But most of the respondents (78.1%, 75.6%, 71.8%, %, 61.2%) were not aware of drought, desertification, migration, and landlessness were the consequences of land degradation respectively.
Similarly, from the group discussion, farmers responded that land degradation is affecting their living and their socio-economic conditions. The results revealed that most of the farmers living conditions are deteriorating from time to time due to decreasing crop production, resulting from land degradation. According to the respondents, previously crops produced mainly wheat, sorghum, beans, and pea were the source of income in addition to home consumption. But at present, it is challenging to be a source of income and it is not even sufficient to feed their family. Due to the decline in crop yield, and the resulting income reduction and the progressive price increment of fertilizer and the farmer’ inability to afford it, farmers are becoming food insecure. The finding is in line with Moges and Holden (2006) who reported land degradation through soil erosion is a major cause of poverty in rural areas of Ethiopia. In many areas, farming populations have experienced a decline in farm income. The immediate consequence of land degradation is reduced crop yield followed by economic decline and social stress (Moges and Holden, 2006).

Conclusion

The dominantly practiced SWC measures in the area include cutoff drains, waterways, soil bunds, fallowing, and application of manure. The majority of farmers in the study area had no enough perception of the unique benefit of different types of conservation structures. Thus, the practice of different types of SWC method is limited. The practice of SWC measures was affected by age, sex, education level, household size, land size, off-farm activities, distance from homestead, contact with DAs, and training on SWC measures. Crop production is deteriorating from time to time due to land degradation and poor SWC practices. To solve the problem there is a need to aware of the society about the causes and consequences of land degradation and then implement SWC practices.