Assessing the role of traditional land management practices in improving cropland productivity: The case of Diga Woreda, Oromia

A Land management practice has many forms and the focus of this research is on

traditional land management practices. The main objective of this study was to assess the

role of traditional land management practices in improving cropland productivity in the

study area. The study was mainly focused on describing the soil fertility status between

lands with and without traditional land management practices.12 Soil sample was taken

from farmland with four and above practices and another 12 soil sample from farmland

without practices at the distance of less than 2km.The sample were compared for its soil

quality, crop biomass weight and yield.. Multistage sampling technique was used to

select peasant association, cultivated fields for soil sampling and households for

questionnaire survey. Transects were used to collect soil samples and structured and

semi-structured questionnaires to gather the necessary information from the sampled

households, key informants and group discussions. The results of soil chemical property

analysis revealed that, the status of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available

phosphorous, available potassium, cation exchange capacity and pH of the soil with

traditional land management practices recorded the highest mean value ranging from 5

to 40 per cent than soil without traditional land management practices. Furthermore, dry

biomass weight and crop yield in land with traditional practices has showed a greater

mean value as compared to soil without practices. The traditional land management

practices improved cropland productivity through addition of organic matter to the soil,

adding nitrogen, maintaining organic matter and plant nutrients, and improving soil

structures increasing water infiltration and reducing run off. The decline in fertility of the

soil without the practices might was due to the removal of plant nutrient by erosion and

crop harvest without replacement. The Majority of the farmers (68 to 95%) reported that

combinations of practices are very effective in improving cropland productivity.