Adoption and Impact of Sustainable Agricultural Practices Among Smallholder Farmers in Somodo Watershed Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

This study was aimed to identify the factors that influence smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt four different sustainable agricultural practices (i.e. improved variety, manure, soil and water conservation practices and herbicide) and the impact on income of smallholder farmers in Somodo watershed, Jimma zone. Multistage sampling procedure that involves a combination of purposive and random sampling procedures was employed. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 118 smallholder farmers in the watershed where integrated watershed management interventions were implemented by Jimma Agricultural Research Center from 2011-2018. A questionnaire was administered to the 118 selected smallholder farmers and quantitative data type were collected and used in this study. Descriptive statistics, a multivariate probit and Endogenous switching regression model were used to analyze the data. The study result shows that 25.51% of farmers apply manure on their farm plots in the watershed. Improved variety, soil and water management practices and herbicide are adopted by 35.63%, 42.91% and 12.15% of farmers, respectively. The finding of the study revealed that adoption of sustainable agricultural practices were determined by sex, age, cultivated land size, technical advice, tropical livestock unit, distance to main market, distance to agricultural extension agent office, plot distance, medium soil fertility, medium slope of land and red color of soil. The study concluded that the adoption of different sustainable agricultural practices in combination had a positive impact on income of smallholder farmers and their adoption was influenced by socioeconomic, institutional, and soil characteristics. Therefore, it is recommended that all stakeholders should pay due attention to empowering farmers to use different sustainable agricultural practices; improve soil health, increase crop productivity and income. The positive effect of technical advice on sustainable agricultural practice’s adoption suggests the need for increased accessibility of practical training mainly on preparing manure and compost, soil and water conservation practices and use of improved crops varieties.