ASSESSMENT OF SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN HADERO TUNTO ZURIA WOREDA, KAMBATA ZONE, CENTERAL ETHIOPIA REGION.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the practice and challenges of soil management for rehabilitating degraded land in sampled kebeles of Hadero Tunto Zuria Woreda, Kambata Zone, and Centeral Ethiopia Region. The subjects of the study were 151 survey households’ heads, 16 focused group discussants and 2 natural resource experts and 10 key informants 2 development agents. Totally 181 respondents were participated in this study. Descriptive research design with mixed research approach was employed. Questionnaire, interview, personal observation and focused group discussion were used as data collection tools. Quantitative data was analyzed by frequency, percentage and one sampled t-test while qualitative data was analyzed by descriptive narration. It was generalized traditional land management was practiced in a better way in Mugunga and Homa Kebeles of Hadero Tunto Zuria Woreda. Both physical and biological traditional land management were practiced in study area. The effects of soil management in study area were crop yields increased, soil erosion prevent, soil-water retention improved, productivity of land enhanced, biophysical aspect of land improved, income of farmers increased, fodder for animals obtained and soil fertility improvement. It known that practice traditional land management was not easy and straight forward but was challenged by lack of co-ordination of key stakeholders, limited technical assistance from agricultural office experts, conservativeness of farmers to adopt additional advice than their indigenous knowledge, declinations of farmland size to adopt their indigenous knowledge. Recommendation forwarded were, Hadero Tunto Zuria Woreda should make farmers to practice traditional land management together with modern land management to reduce the challenges of technical aspect, physical soil conservation should be constructed at far vertical interval and by focusing on stabilization conservational structures because land size in study area decreased from time to time and farmers and agricultural office experts should work in a coordinated way.