Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia

Getahun Garedew Wodaje

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia

Getahun Garedew Wodaje

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 8, Issue 6)

Received: 24 November 2020 Accepted: 18 December 2020 Published: 25 December 2020

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Abstract

Mountain people understand environmental degradation only at times when they lost the production options of their farmlands that sustained them in the past. This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of on-farm environmental degradation in mount Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Data collection techniques used in this study was interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and questionnaires. Multi-stage Purposive and Systematic sampling technique methods were used to select study sites and households, respectively. Using systematic sampling technique from all the four kebeles of the Woreda a total of 200 households was selected. Data were presented in descriptive statistics. The result of the study shows that almost all households appreciate the causes, indicators and problems of on-farm environmental degradation. 69% of the respondents agree that their land is severely eroded while 24.5% say it is moderate on their land holding. Only 6.5% say the erosion rate is slight on their land holding and none of the respondents doubt the problem of soil erosion on their agricultural productivity and natural resource base. The main reason of depletion of the natural vegetation as perceived by the respondents is clearance of the forest for farming, over grazing and timber cutting. About the climatic problems of farm lands on the mountain, flood during the rainy season (which is also the growing season) is their main problem and windstorm and drought were also seen by the study population as the main climatic problem of the area.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 8, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13
Page(s)	123-128
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Perception of Farmers, Damota Mountain, Environmental Degradation

References

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[17]	Wymann von Dach S, Romeo R, Vita A, Wurzinger M, Kohler T (eds). 2013. Mountain Farming Is Family Farming: A contribution from mountain areas to the International Year of Family Farming 2014. Rome, Italy: FAO, CDE, BOKU, pp. 100.

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Getahun Garedew Wodaje. (2020). Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 8(6), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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Getahun Garedew Wodaje. Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2020, 8(6), 123-128. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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AMA Style

Getahun Garedew Wodaje. Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2020;8(6):123-128. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13,
  author = {Getahun Garedew Wodaje},
  title = {Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {123-128},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  abstract = {Mountain people understand environmental degradation only at times when they lost the production options of their farmlands that sustained them in the past. This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of on-farm environmental degradation in mount Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Data collection techniques used in this study was interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and questionnaires. Multi-stage Purposive and Systematic sampling technique methods were used to select study sites and households, respectively. Using systematic sampling technique from all the four kebeles of the Woreda a total of 200 households was selected. Data were presented in descriptive statistics. The result of the study shows that almost all households appreciate the causes, indicators and problems of on-farm environmental degradation. 69% of the respondents agree that their land is severely eroded while 24.5% say it is moderate on their land holding. Only 6.5% say the erosion rate is slight on their land holding and none of the respondents doubt the problem of soil erosion on their agricultural productivity and natural resource base. The main reason of depletion of the natural vegetation as perceived by the respondents is clearance of the forest for farming, over grazing and timber cutting. About the climatic problems of farm lands on the mountain, flood during the rainy season (which is also the growing season) is their main problem and windstorm and drought were also seen by the study population as the main climatic problem of the area.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia
AU - Getahun Garedew Wodaje
Y1 - 2020/12/25
PY - 2020
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13
DO - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13
T2 - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP - 123
EP - 128
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-7536
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13
AB - Mountain people understand environmental degradation only at times when they lost the production options of their farmlands that sustained them in the past. This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of on-farm environmental degradation in mount Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Data collection techniques used in this study was interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and questionnaires. Multi-stage Purposive and Systematic sampling technique methods were used to select study sites and households, respectively. Using systematic sampling technique from all the four kebeles of the Woreda a total of 200 households was selected. Data were presented in descriptive statistics. The result of the study shows that almost all households appreciate the causes, indicators and problems of on-farm environmental degradation. 69% of the respondents agree that their land is severely eroded while 24.5% say it is moderate on their land holding. Only 6.5% say the erosion rate is slight on their land holding and none of the respondents doubt the problem of soil erosion on their agricultural productivity and natural resource base. The main reason of depletion of the natural vegetation as perceived by the respondents is clearance of the forest for farming, over grazing and timber cutting. About the climatic problems of farm lands on the mountain, flood during the rainy season (which is also the growing season) is their main problem and windstorm and drought were also seen by the study population as the main climatic problem of the area.
VL - 8
IS - 6
ER -

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Getahun Garedew Wodaje

Department of Environmental Science, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Getahun Garedew Wodaje. (2020). Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 8(6), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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ACS Style

Getahun Garedew Wodaje. Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2020, 8(6), 123-128. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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AMA Style

Getahun Garedew Wodaje. Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2020;8(6):123-128. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13,
  author = {Getahun Garedew Wodaje},
  title = {Mountain Farmers' Perception of on-farm Environmental Degradation, the Case of Damota, Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {123-128},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20200806.13},
  abstract = {Mountain people understand environmental degradation only at times when they lost the production options of their farmlands that sustained them in the past. This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of on-farm environmental degradation in mount Damota, Southern Ethiopia. Data collection techniques used in this study was interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and questionnaires. Multi-stage Purposive and Systematic sampling technique methods were used to select study sites and households, respectively. Using systematic sampling technique from all the four kebeles of the Woreda a total of 200 households was selected. Data were presented in descriptive statistics. The result of the study shows that almost all households appreciate the causes, indicators and problems of on-farm environmental degradation. 69% of the respondents agree that their land is severely eroded while 24.5% say it is moderate on their land holding. Only 6.5% say the erosion rate is slight on their land holding and none of the respondents doubt the problem of soil erosion on their agricultural productivity and natural resource base. The main reason of depletion of the natural vegetation as perceived by the respondents is clearance of the forest for farming, over grazing and timber cutting. About the climatic problems of farm lands on the mountain, flood during the rainy season (which is also the growing season) is their main problem and windstorm and drought were also seen by the study population as the main climatic problem of the area.},
 year = {2020}
}

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