Sustainable Land Management Practices and Farmer Adoption Factors
Summary
Sustainable land management (SLM) encompasses a suite of biophysical and socio-economic approaches designed to maintain or enhance the productive capacity of land while conserving natural resources. Key practices include soil and water conservation structures such as bunds and terraces, agroforestry systems that integrate trees with crops or livestock, cover cropping and crop rotation to improve soil organic matter, and precision fertilisation to optimise nutrient use. Adoption is influenced by a complex interplay of household characteristics (education, labour availability, income), land tenure and plot attributes (size, slope, proximity to homestead), institutional support (extension services, credit access, training) and broader biophysical conditions (climate variability, soil fertility and degradation pressures). Farmers weigh the costs of construction and maintenance against expected benefits, which may accrue immediately through yield gains or accrue more slowly via enhanced resilience to erosion and drought. Social factors such as group membership, peer demonstration and gender dynamics also shape uptake. Effectively scaling SLM requires tailoring interventions to local agro-ecological and socio-economic contexts, combining technical guidance with incentives or subsidies, and fostering knowledge exchange within and between communities. Global significance lies in meeting food security goals under climate change, reversing land degradation trends and delivering co-benefits for biodiversity, water quality and carbon sequestration.
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Sustainable Land Management Practices and Farmer Adoption Factors publication trend
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Technical terms
Sustainable Land Management (SLM): Integrated practices that conserve soil and water, enhance productivity and maintain ecosystem services over the long term.
Soil and Water Conservation (SWC): Structural and vegetative measures (bunds, terraces, check dams) to reduce erosion, retain moisture and improve soil health.
Agroforestry: Land-use systems combining woody perennials with crops or livestock to diversify production, improve nutrient cycling and sequester carbon.
Contour Bunding: Earth banks constructed along the contour lines of slopes to slow water runoff, capture sediments and reduce soil erosion.
References
- Determinants of organic soil fertilization methods use over time and in the face of climate vulnerability. Soil and Tillage Research (2024).
- Who uses sustainable land management practices and what are the costs and benefits? Insights from Kenya. Land Degradation and Development (2018).
- Farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation practices: The case of Lege-Lafto Watershed, Dessie Zuria District, South Wollo, Ethiopia. PLOS ONE (2022).
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