Determinants of Farmers’ Perception on the Role of Sustainable Land Management Practices: Empirical Evidence from Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The heavy dependence of farming communities on agriculture has exposed land resources to continuous depletion and ruin. In the face of land degradation, identifying the perception level and its driving forces are important for development interventions. With this context, this study examined the socioeconomic, institutional, biophysical, and policy factors that influenced farmers' perceptions of sustainable land management practices. Data were collected from 475 households drawn randomly from 6 districts from Sidama, Wolaita, and Siltie zones using a household survey. Qualitative data were also collected using focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics and ordered probit model were used for data analysis. Results revealed that education, cultivated land, institutional factors (training and land market), and biophysical attributes (plot distance, topsoil erosion, erosion severity, slope status, and soil quality) strongly influenced farmers' perception of sustainable land management practices. The policy attributes, i.e., land certificate, community bylaws, incentives; and agroecological location also influenced farmers' perceptions. The study implies that development programs and policy initiatives should not only depend on implementing physical structures; but also, should equally consider farmers’ perceptions within the context of their endowed socioeconomic, institutional, biophysical, and policy factors.