Determinants of smallholder farmers' adoption of agroforestry practices: Sodo Zuriya District, southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Agroforestry is recommended as a more sustainable practice in areas with increased population pressure and land scarcity. Several factors limit farmers’ ability to make decisions regarding agroforestry practices. Considering this, the current study was conducted in the Sodo Zuria district of the Wolaita Zone to determine the determinants of farmers' adoption of agroforestry practices. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to select an optimal sample size of 173 respondents from the three study sites. A structured interview schedule was used to collect quantitative data from the respondents. The checklist was used to collect qualitative data from non-sampled respondents in the community through focus group discussions, personal observations, and key informant interviews. The study's conceptual framework was based on the theory of planned behavior. The collected data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics, such as the chi-square test and the t-test. According to the logistic regression analysis, the adoption of agroforestry practices was positively influenced by land size, farmland erosion, education, awareness, and extension services, which should be considered in all initiatives to promote agroforestry as a strategy to achieve integrated rural development in the study areas.