Ngos Natural Resources Management Technologies: Their Adoption by Farmers with Evidence from Kindo Koisha Area, Southern Ethiopia
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Date
2000
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
NGOs have considerable experience in promoting and disseminating NRM technologies
t hro ughout the world. In line with this, since the 1984/ 85 Sahelian drought, NGOs
have introduced various NRM technologies to rehabilitate renewable natural resources in
different rural areas of Ethiopia. SOS ( 'Save Our Soils') Sahel IUK international is one
of slich environmental NGOs in Ethiopia. The major objective of th is paper was to
exa mine whether farmers in the study area have adopted the SOS-Sahel initiated
NRM technolog ies and some socio-economic and institutional factors affecting the
adoption and sustainabi lity issue. Th e study was based on th e survey of 92 randomly
selected HH heads from Kindo Koisha Wereda and other institutional data sources
from project, local, regional and federal offices concerned with environment and NRM.
The study has employed both descri ptive and qualitative analysis as methodological
tools.
The findings have shown that both the structural and agronomic NRM technologies
were int roduced by the project. From among agronomic measures (multipurpose
grasses and shade trees) and from structural measures soil bund were well adopted.
For instance, the adoption level of technolog ies shows that out of the total fa rmers
more than 93% adopted soil bund , 58% adopted grass strips and 50 % adopted shade
trees. Training, labour availability, participation and access to hand tools were found
to be highly affecting the adoption process in the study area. In fact, as compared to
previous government intervention in the area the adoption is better due to improved
participation (during implementation), favorable attitude of community towards the
technologies introduced, better awareness creation and technical back-up services.
Although the SOS-Sahel introduced NRM technology is high ly accepted in the study
area its widespread repl ication and sustainabi lity seems requiring additional technical
and material assistant. In fact, about 78.6 % of respondents covered in thi s survey
showed interest to continue the intervention. However, some of them put material and
technical pre-conditions to undertake conservation measures in a sustained manner.
Hence, addressing socio-economic and institu tional arrangement such as additional
training, access to hand tools, creating means for off-farm income sources,
strengthening conservation work groups, improving basic social infrastru ctures like
water supply, health facilities for human and animal and introducing agro-forestry and
fuel wood saving mechanisms is necessary. In general the paper concludes by
highlighting that SOS-Sahel /KRDP should design and implement a sound socioeconomic
and in stitutional NRM package arrangements in addition to technical
feasibility to ensure the sustainab ility of the NRM interventions. Finally, NGOs efforts
to mange natural resources should be encouraged th rough clear sector/actor-NRM
Pol icy/ strategy and its subsequent implementation proced ure which might be
desig ned by Federal Environmental Protection Authority or government bodies
concerned with NRM in SNNPR to ensure the lasting benefit from such NGOs
intervention.
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Keywords
Natural Resources Management