Gold or crops: Preferences for agricultural land restoration practices in gold-mined landscapes in northern Ethiopia

Traditional Gold Mining (TGM) in developing countries causes significant land degradation, threatening the livelihoods and food security of subsistence farmers. At the center of this gold extraction and land degradation lies farmers’ divergent preferences for gold and crops. Understanding these preferences will help promote restoration practices that not only improve soil health and enhance the productivity of gold-mined agricultural landscapes but also allow farmers to continue generating additional income from gold. The objective of this study is to evaluate farmers’ preferences and their willingness to accept compensation for adopting restoration practices on agricultural lands severely impacted by TGM. A choice experiment was conducted to assess farmers’ preferences and willingness to accept compensation for implementing soil-based restoration practices, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation, phytoremediation, and soil and water conservation structures. This experiment evaluated the trade-offs farmers are willing to make between these practices and compensation offers. The results reveal farmers’ reluctance to abandon current gold-mining practices due to the income they derive from gold extraction. This highlights the need for compensation mechanisms to incentivize the adoption of restoration practices, which reflect not only the income farmers would forgo but also the perceived high initial investment and management costs associated with restoration efforts. Farmers showed a positive preference for soil and water conservation measures and planting heavy metal-tolerant trees. However, they expressed negative preferences for AMF inoculation, suggesting concerns over its effectiveness or costs. Interestingly, farmers were more inclined to support higher-cost restoration practices, such as soil and water conservation structures, provided there are strong cross-compliance mechanisms to safeguard their long-term investments. This indicates that successful adoption of restoration practices may depend on not just financial incentives but also robust policies and support structures that ensure the sustainability of these investments. The study highlights the critical need for well-designed financial incentives and policy support to overcome farmers’ reluctance to shift from gold mining to land restoration.