SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICE AND THEIR CHALLENGES IN DOYO-GENA WOREDA KEMBATA TEMBARO ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Soil conservation practice has a long history in Ethiopia, and still now using of the different conservation technique has presented difficulty to implement indifferent areas particularly in Doyo-Gena Woreda. An attempt was made to identify the type’s soil conservation practices, to assess the challenges for the implementation and maintenance of conservation practices and to examine opportunities in the land management and soil conservation practices. This study applied qualitative approaches. Random sampling technique was used toselect131 sample households. Household survey questionnaires, structured interview, field observation and FGD were data collection tools employed. To achieve the objectives, frequency, percentage and mean, were used to analyze the collected data. A number of soil conservation measure were practiced in the Doyo-Gena Woreda such as fallowing, crop rotation, contour farming, traditional stone bunds, traditional ditches, plantations and traditional cut-off drains. On the other hand, currently introduced modern soil conservation practices like fanaya juju, soil bunds, improved cut-off drains, grass strips, and check dams are conservation practiced by households in the study area. The survey results showed that age, gender, family size, educational status, farm size, farmland and labor availability were among the major challenges that influence the implementation of soil conservation practices. Formulating appropriate plan and strategies of land management and soil conservation measures encourage apparent traditional knowledge for farmers on soil conservation practices, and properplan and conservation of modern soil management practices are decisively suggested to recover soil conservation challenges of the study area. Assessing the soil conservation measures by researcher for the future become recommended gaps in the study area