Adoption of sustainable land management practices: the case of Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia

Low land productivity due to land degradation in the form of soil erosion is one of the leading challenges in improving the performance of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia. This study attempted to assess the factors affecting the adoption of sustainable land management practices and to evaluate the effect of sustainable land management practices on household income in the study area. Primary data were collected through interview schedule and checklists were used for focus group discussions and key informants interviews. 122 respondents were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, binary logit model and independent T-test were used to analyze the data. The model output revealed that family size, farm size, household income, age of the household head, land topography and access to market have a significant positive effect on the adoption of sustainable land management practices (SLMP). The computed independent T-test for the mean income difference was statistically significant between adopters and non-adopters; suggesting that adopters were in a better-off position to improve their livelihood. Therefore, policymakers should give attention to factors that significantly influence the adoption of sustainable land management practices in the area.