College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, P.O Box 1176AAU, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O Box 6708PB, Wageningen, Netherlands.
J Environ Manage. 2019 Oct 15;248:109336. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109336. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
This paper analyses the effect of an adapted - more participatory and more integrated - mass mobilization training approach on Ethiopian farmers' motivation to practice integrated farming and invest in Sustainable Land Management (SLM). It is based on the results of an experiment carried-out in the Sago-kara watershed in the Central highlands of Ethiopia, in which a group of 26 farmers received an adapted training at the start of the mass mobilization campaign in 2016, which aimed to strengthen farmers' knowledge and awareness about natural resource management, drought mitigation and integrated farm planning. One year later, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through group discussions, field observations and household surveys. For the before-after comparison we used descriptive statistics to analyze the data; the with-without comparison (with a control group) differences were statistically tested at 1% and 5% probability levels. The results show that the adapted training approach enhanced awareness of farmers, created motivation for integrated farm management and fostered implementation of SLM practices in the field. Most interesting is that farmers who followed the training better plan for drought mitigation and are more aware of the possible effects of drought on their farming activities. The study concludes that the current mass mobilization approach in Ethiopia can have more impact on SLM if it would pay serious attention to: 1) creating awareness on the causes and effects of erosion and drought focusing on sustainability issues, 2) fostering farmers' intrinsic motivation to be good stewards of their land; 3) training in integrated farm planning, and 4) developing farm plans based on farmers' visions for resilient farming. In order to make agricultural extension in Ethiopia more effective, one has to start with capacity building of the rural extension staff in participatory training methods, followed by empowering and motivating farmers for SLM. This will not only lay a foundation for sustainable agriculture and more food security on the farm, but is also crucial for the scaling-up of resilient farming to watershed and landscape levels in Ethiopia.
本文分析了适应性更强的、更具参与性和综合性的大规模动员培训方法对埃塞俄比亚农民从事综合农业和投资可持续土地管理（SLM）的动机的影响。该研究基于在埃塞俄比亚中部高地的 Sago-kara 流域开展的一项实验结果，该实验在 2016 年大规模动员活动开始时，对 26 名农民进行了适应性培训，旨在加强农民对自然资源管理、缓解干旱和综合农场规划的知识和意识。一年后，通过小组讨论、实地观察和家庭调查收集了定性和定量数据。为了进行前后对比，我们使用描述性统计方法分析了数据；通过与对照组进行的有-无对比（with-without comparison），在 1%和 5%的概率水平上对差异进行了统计检验。结果表明，适应性培训方法提高了农民的意识，激发了他们对综合农场管理的积极性，并促进了 SLM 实践在实地的实施。最有趣的是，参加培训的农民更好地规划了缓解干旱的措施，并且更加意识到干旱对他们农业活动的可能影响。研究得出结论，如果埃塞俄比亚当前的大规模动员方法能够更加关注以下几个方面，那么它可能会对 SLM 产生更大的影响：1）关注可持续性问题，提高对侵蚀和干旱原因和影响的认识；2）培养农民成为土地好管家的内在动机；3）进行综合农场规划培训；4）根据农民对弹性农业的愿景制定农场计划。为了使埃塞俄比亚的农业推广更加有效，必须首先从参与式培训方法的农村推广人员的能力建设开始，然后赋予农民权力并激励他们参与 SLM。这不仅为农场的可持续农业和粮食安全奠定了基础，而且对埃塞俄比亚流域和景观层面弹性农业的扩大也至关重要。
