LAND REHABIEITATION PRACTICES; CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN KEBENA WOREDA OF GURAGE ZONE SNNPRS

Abstract The term land refers to a spatial unit containing all natural resources. Land degradation is one of the most serious environmental problems in Ethiopia. The consequences of land degradation in Ethiopia are deteriorations of biodiversity, low agricultural productivity, loss of biodiversity and others socio-economic impacts. However, different efforts of land rehabilitation practices have been done since rehabilitation of degraded land is especially important for farm households in attainment of their livelihood assets. This study was conducted in Guraghe zone, Kebena woreda aiming at Assessing Land Rehabilitation Practices and its challenges and opportunities of Farm Households. The researcher used both primary and secondary data. After stratifying, of total 635 farm households, into male headed and female-headed households, 193 farm households were selected from 635 total households. In order to gather qualitative and quantitative data from the respondents, personal observation, questionnaire, key informant’s interviews, and focus group discussion were conducted. The study found that lack of awareness, lack of training; population pressure, off-farming activities, community participation and local government and local NGOs are the dominant factors challenging land rehabilitation practices in the study area. But, the trend of land rehabilitation practices has been increasing and results in increasing of livestock production, availability of forage, Vegetation cover, crop productivity and household incomes. Creating awareness, providing training for farm households, reducing family size are methods for increasing participation in land rehabilitation program. Finally, improving community participation, enhancing the relationship between the government and NGOs are very important.