The intensity of conservation practices installed on croplands and its determinant factors in Tigray region of northern Ethiopia

Soil-conservation practices can significantly address the problems of cropland degradation and reduced crop productivity if conservation structures are sufficiently dense. The present study investigates the density of installed soil-conservation structures and the factors that determine their adoption intensity in Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. This research uses cross-sectional data collected from 840 randomly selected households through a structured questionnaire. It extends earlier research by introducing a new way of measuring the density of existing land-conservation structures by comparing the length of the installed structures to the recommended standards. The double-hurdle model is used to analyze factors that determine the intensity of adoption of soil-conservation practices. The results of descriptive statistics show that croplands have received on average less than half of the recommended density of soil bund and stone bund. The regression results show that households with larger asset holdings tend to intensify the adoption of soil-conservation structures. Likewise, households that participate in labor-sharing and training activities, without fear of land appropriation, generally build significantly denser conservation structures on their croplands. Farmers are more likely to strengthen soil-conservation structures if their holdings are located on steeper slopes and closer to their residences. These findings provide important policy implication that enhancing farmers' material wealth and conservation-related knowledge, while ensuring stable land ownership, may encourage them to adopt more intense soil-conservation practices.