| dc.description.abstract | This study is an investigation of effects of integrated soil and water management on the
livelihoods of smallholders of Burega Sectors, Rulindo District of Northern Province of Rwanda.
The main aim was to investigate the effect of integrated soil and water management on the
livelihood of smallholders. Specifically, the study aimed at determining the factors contributing
to the use of the most SWC technologies, assessing the extent to which farmers have
implemented soil and water conservation technologies, analyzing the effect of SWC technologies
on the livelihoods of smallholders and also determining the benefits of soil and water
conservation technologies in the study area. It was hypothesized that there is no relationship
between factors contributing to the adoption of SWC technologies and a number of SWC
technologies adopted, as well as there is no relationship between the number of SWC
technologies used by farmers in Burega Sector and access to the livelihood assets. In order to
address the objectives, both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Structured
questionnaire was used to collect primary data from households to get their views on adoption of
SWC technologies and their effects on the livelihoods of farmers as well as their benefits. The
study applied a non-experimental design (explanatory) to collect primary data from a sample of
270 households drawn from the nine villages of Burega Sectors. Stratified random sampling
technique was also used along with the simple random sampling technique in each stratum.
Actually, data collection used a questionnaire to capture data from household heads and key
informants. Secondary data were collected from official government reports, international reports
as well as scientific publications. The data collected was then analyzed by inferential statistics
such as chi-square and at the 95 % confidence level using SPSS computer package version 20
and Microsoft office Excel. Perceptions of respondents of factors influencing the adoption of
SWC technologies, extent of using these SWC techniques, their effects on farmers‟ livelihoods
as well as their benefits were analyzed. In addition, the relationship between the number of SWC
technologies adopted and factors affecting their adoption as well as an access to the livelihood
assets were analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
software. Adoption extent of SWC technologies was analyzed by using descriptive statistics such
as frequencies and percentages. The study found out that most adopted SWC technologies are
crop rotation, ditches, agricultural inputs and radical terraces while the main factors influencing
their adoption are farm size, having livestock, crop yield, farmers‟ perception of the soil erosion
problem, access to extension services and experience, availability of inputs support and steep
slope. It was found that 9.3% of respondents adopt at least one technique while 37.8% use the
four identified SWC technologies. The results revealed that respondents have access to
livelihood assets (natural, human, social, physical and financial assets) found in the area of study.
Additionally, the findings showed that the adoption of SWC technologies has many benefits to
the people in the area of study, including improvement of crop yield and soil fertility, control of
soil erosion/runoff as well as the increase of availability of fodder for their livestock. The
statistical test showed that farm size, crop yield, perception of soil erosion, availability of inputs
supports and steep slope have a connection with adoption of SWC technologies, while on the
other hand, raising livestock has no relationship with adoption of SWC technologies. In addition,
it was observed that age, household size, education, access to extension services and knowledge
dissemination have no connection with adoption of SWC technologies in the area. But, the
availability of training and access on it as well as farmers‟ experience have a relationship with
the adoption of SWC technologies. Natural and social assets were also found to have a relationship with adoption of SWC technologies in the study area. While access on financial
assets in the form of livestock rearing has no connection with adoption, whereas farmers‟
cooperative in which members are able to access to credit and saving has found to have a
relationship with adoption of SWC technologies. The study concluded that most of the
participants were willing to maintain soil as a valuable resource and apply SWC technologies for
maximizing their benefits, but expressed the need for the continuing support of the
implementation. Further, it also brings to a close that conservation efforts ought to focus on areas
where expected benefits are higher, especially on the steeper slopes, in order to encourage the
use of the SWC technologies. The research also recommends further researches in the study area,
including assessment of the impacts of the adoption of SWC technologies on climate change,
women, final agricultural productivity, food security and market price changes as well as soil
properties and long-term sustainability. | en_US |
