Gender Role and Farmers’ Adoption Decision on Soil and Water Conservation in Kersa Districts of Eastern Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia (The Case of Fanya Juu, Soil and Stone Bund Measure)

Soil conservation is the only known way to protect the productive land. In country like Ethiopia, where droughts and floods cause food scarcity problem, soil and water conservation not only increases crop yield, but also prevents further deterioration of land. Soil and water conservation preserve soil moisture and drain water sustainably to avoid soil erosion and depletion of soil nutrients. So that, the main objectives of this study is to analysis factors affecting soil and water conservation adoption and to identify gender role in soil and water conservation practice in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. The data were collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire during the period of January 20-February 20/ 2017. The study implemented binary logit model to identify factor affecting adoption of soil and water conservation. Level of formal education, market distance, labor force, slope of the farm land and size of livestock were significant variables which are found to affect the soil and water conservation of household in study area. Level of education was related with adoption of conservation structures, because literate farmers are in a better position to get information and use it in such a way that it contribute to their soil and water conservation than illiterate ones. Therefore, designating and implementing adult education should be encouraged by the government. In addition, soil bunds, Fanya juu and stone bunds are the major soil and water conservation measures that are widely implemented by farmers in the area.