The Adoption of Social Conservation Structures in the Western Catchment of Cherake River, Southern Ethiopia
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Date
1992-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The Western Catchment of Cherake River is one of the
erosion prone areas in Ethiopia. Natural and human factors
in combination have caused considerable erosion damage to the
soil resource in the area. In order to mitigate the severity
of this problem, structural conservation measures have been
intr-oduced since 1985.. To e>:amine the adoption of the
conser-vati on structures, a sampl e of 200 plots vJ;ere randoml y
selected and the owners of thes e plots were interviewed with
reference to their respective sample plots.
Of the nine independent variables considered for the
e >:pl anati on of the adopti on of the conser-vati on structures,
the stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the
at ti tude of f arme,..-s to,,"Jards the conser-vati on structures l'
perception of soil erosion, and size oT +arm are the most
significant ..
The other factors that inflLlenced majority of farmers to
accept the conservation structure are its efficiency at
controlling run off., reducing loss of soil and fertilizers.,
and increase of yield in lower altitudinal zones. On the
contrary, inconveniences to the crosswise ploughing in
steeper slopes, habitation of moles in the conservation
strLlctures, and loss of cropland have caused some of the
farmers to reject the conservation structures. These
shortcomings of the conservation structures are the major
causes for lack of maintenance of structures, development of
terraces, and efficient control of erosion.
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Keywords
Adoption of Social Conservation Structures