Abstract:
Soil erosion is one of the most severe problems affecting the agriculture sector in Ethiopia. Vetiver
grass has been introduced by NGO’s in Lay Armachiho woreda as a biological soil and water
conservation measure to protect soil erosion in farmers’ field. The objective of the study was to assess
the status of vetiver grass as a biological soil and water conservation structure in Lay Armachiho
woreda to protect farmers’ land from soil erosion. A total of 150 household heads were selected
randomly to collect information under three watersheds. Questionnaire, interview and field observation
were used to collect data from sample respondents. Data were analyzed with the use of descriptive
statistics, cross tabulation and chi-square test methods. The result showed that education, use of
physical and biological SWC structures, effectiveness of Vetiver grass for SWC, training and technical
support by developmental agents and agricultural experts were found to be significantly related to the
adoption of vetiver grass whereas sex, age, wealth status, farm size and farm distance were not
significantly related to the use of vetiver grass as a biological soil and water conservation technique at
95% significance level.
