FARMERS ’ PERCEPTION ON THE ROLE OF VETIVER GRASS IN SWC IN SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA: THE CASE OF TULUBE PEASANT ASSOCIATION, METU DISTRICT

Land degradation is one of the major challenges in agricultural production in many parts of the world, especially in developing nations like Ethiopia. Even though a number of SWC (SWC) measures were introduced to combat land degradation, mainly because of high construction cost and lack of skilled manpower, adoption of these practices remains below expectations. By the initiation of the World Bank, since the 1980’s vetiver grass as a bio-SWC measure got acceptance and almost 120 countries of the world are adopting and practicing it. Since the early 1990s, vetiver grass is used in Ethiopia as one of the SWC. Therefore, this study has concentrated on farmers ’ perception of the role of vetiver grass for SWC and its effect in Tulube Peasant Association, Metu District of Illubabor Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Data was collected from 112 randomly selected farm households using structured questionnaires, interviews with government and NGO officials of the area, and workgroup discussions with carefully selected community members. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather information, and descriptive statistics were employed t