Abstract:
One of the most concerning environmental issues is soil deterioration, which jeopardises the
extremely limited natural resources that are necessary for crop production. In Wogdie
district of South Wollo, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia, this study sought to
determine the factors that influence the adoption of soil and water conservation and its
effects on livelihood. The survey design utilised in the study was cross-sectional that data
was- collected through Key informant interviews, focus groups, and structured interviews
with 339 sample respondents were conducted. The adoption of soil and water conservation
and its influence on livelihood practises in the research area were determined using
descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model. That the findings demonstrated
78.8% of the heads of households had implemented water and soil conservation measures.
The distribution that results indicates, among respondents in the study area, stone faced soil
bunds were adopted by 28% and soil bund types by 22.1%) of respondents, respectively, as
soil and water conservation practises. These were followed by stone bunds, check dams,
hillside terraces and cut-off drain conservation practises, which accounted for 18.3%, 15.3%,
12.4% and (4.1%) of respondents, respectively. Additionally, the conventional methods of
conserving water and soil of the respondents in the research area, 41.3% and 32.2% were
adopted. The remaining 26.3% of respondents used contour ploughing, Weber and Debe
kinds of soil and water conservation techniques, respectively. The implementation of soil and
water conservation practises is significantly and favourably impacted by variables such a
land holding certificate, an adequate labour force, technical training ,slope of farmland, soil
and water conservation practice difficult in labour, access of credit service and revenue from
non-farm activities . When these independent variables rise, farmer households are less likely
to adopt soil and water conservation practises, according to odds ratio data.
