Does rural labor markets affect soil conservation? A case study of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

This study stakes on the debate on whether or not increased off-farm employment compromises the adoption and the intensity of adopting some labor intensive soil conserving technologies.

The research first presents a theoretical framework of household adoption of soil conserving technologies in the presence of imperfect labor markets. Theoretically, it is shown then the overall effect is indeterminate. The study goes a step further by taking a case study of Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania and finds evidence that household participation in off-farm employment compromised soil conservation. Households supplying labor off-farm are generally associated with reduced adoption of terraces, hedgerows and cut-offs. The negative impact of supplying labor off-farm can be moderately cushioned when households also hire labor to work on the construction or maintenance of soil conserving structures. However, it is shown that hired labor is not a perfect substitute for households’ own labor and does not fully off-set the effect of a household’s off-farm labor supply.

EfD Authors

Dr. John Mduma Senior Lecturer & Research Fellow

Keywords

Soil conservation

Files

Related discussion paper 487.9 kB

Centers

tanzania

Type of publication

Peer reviewed

Reference

Mduma, J.K. 2007. "Does Rural labor Markets affect Soil Conservation? Case study of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania". Journal of Agronomy 6(1): 228-234.

Environment for Development

Environment for Development