Abstract:
Soil is a crucial and precious natural resource that govern numerous ecological processes. However, in Ethiopia
particularly in north Gondar zone, soil erosion is a severe problem and a major cause of the decline of agricultural
productivity. The adoption and diffusion of soil and water conservation practices (SWC), as a way to tackle this
challenge, has become an important issue in the development policy agenda in the zone. Therefore, this study
was to identify factors affecting Soil conservation investments in the North Gondar zone. Data was collected
through interviewed schedule, filed observation and focus group discussion. The multistage sampling technique
was employed to select 206 sample households. Both descriptive and econometrics model was used to analyze
the collected data. A multivariate profit (MPV) model was used to analyze the effect of demographic,
socioeconomic, market, institutional and biophysical related factors on the interdependent investment decisions
of SWC practices using household survey. The MPV model analysis indicates that farmers invest a combination
of practices at parcel level by considering substitution and complementarity effects of the practices. The results
also revealed that age of household heads, literacy status of household heads, off-farm activity, distance of
farmlands from homesteads, tropical livestock unit, and access to training were influence farmers’ investments
in SWC practices. The overall results indicate that the identified physical, socioeconomic, and institutional factors
influence promote or hinder investments in SWC practice so, policymakers should take into consideration these
various factors in designing and implementing SWC policies and Programmers.
