Assessment of the Status of Farmers? Induced Land Degradation and their Response to Conservation Practices: A Case Study of Jima Arjo Wereda, East Wellega Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Land degradation was a major global issue during the 20th century and will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century. Land degradation is the major challenge in Ethiopia. The study focuses mainly on farmers status imposing land degradation and consequences of land degradation. Land degradation may occur through different physical, chemical and biological processes induced directly or indirectly by human activities like deforestation, shifting cultivation, overgrazing, steep slope farming, overuse of chemical fertilizers and forest resources. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the farmers status of induced land degradation. The data for this study was collected through Questionnaire, Interviews, Focus Group Discussion and Field Observations and secondary sources.272 households used as sample respondents. In the Ethiopian highlands overgrazing, over cultivation and deforestation have been identified as the predominant causes of land degradation. The findings also showed that there was a negative association between farmers and their awareness on the causes and consequences of land degradation and conservation practices. The study identifies the major cause of land degradation. The challenges have been human activities, largely induced by the imposition of land use classification. Deforestation, accelerated soil erosion, and land degradation are serious problems in general. It was found that although different introduced farmland conservation methods are put in practice. In Jima Arjo traditional management practices take the dominant share with respect to their intensive implementation. Based on the finding of this empirical study at household level, all concerned bodies such as governmental, non-governmental organization and the farmers should give emphases to give solution for those factors which critically affected the existing environment.