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Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review

Received: 10 April 2024     Accepted: 29 April 2024     Published: 17 May 2024
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Abstract

The term "land degradation" refers to the deterioration of the land's quality and that of its surrounding components due to either natural or artificial factors. The most frequent cause of land deterioration in Ethiopia is water-induced soil erosion. Due to decreased agricultural soil fertility, land degradation has a detrimental effect on Ethiopia's economy as well as agricultural production. It is now a significant issue impacting all aspect of Ethiopians' social, political, and economic lives. It is one of the main obstacles to the nation's agricultural growth and food security. Rapid population growth, significant soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, insufficient vegetative cover, uneven crop production on steep slopes, erosive rainfall patterns, a lack of fallowing, and inadequate conservation measures are the main drivers of land degradation in Ethiopia's highlands. The consequences of land degradation include the loss of fertile soil, which reduces the amount of land that can be used for agriculture. The state of family food security is negatively impacted by land degradation, which also directly lowers livelihoods in rural areas and has catastrophic effects on Ethiopia's sociocultural context and ecological setting. Lower crop yields are the direct result of soil degradation, and agricultural households experience increased rates of poverty as a result.

Published in International Journal of Science and Qualitative Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12
Page(s) 10-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Land Degradation, Population Growth, Food Security

References
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    Tadesse, A., Hailu, W. (2024). Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review. International Journal of Science and Qualitative Analysis, 10(1), 10-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12

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    ACS Style

    Tadesse, A.; Hailu, W. Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review. Int. J. Sci. Qual. Anal. 2024, 10(1), 10-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12

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    AMA Style

    Tadesse A, Hailu W. Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review. Int J Sci Qual Anal. 2024;10(1):10-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12,
      author = {Amanuel Tadesse and Worku Hailu},
      title = {Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Science and Qualitative Analysis},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {10-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsqa.20241001.12},
      abstract = {The term "land degradation" refers to the deterioration of the land's quality and that of its surrounding components due to either natural or artificial factors. The most frequent cause of land deterioration in Ethiopia is water-induced soil erosion. Due to decreased agricultural soil fertility, land degradation has a detrimental effect on Ethiopia's economy as well as agricultural production. It is now a significant issue impacting all aspect of Ethiopians' social, political, and economic lives. It is one of the main obstacles to the nation's agricultural growth and food security. Rapid population growth, significant soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, insufficient vegetative cover, uneven crop production on steep slopes, erosive rainfall patterns, a lack of fallowing, and inadequate conservation measures are the main drivers of land degradation in Ethiopia's highlands. The consequences of land degradation include the loss of fertile soil, which reduces the amount of land that can be used for agriculture. The state of family food security is negatively impacted by land degradation, which also directly lowers livelihoods in rural areas and has catastrophic effects on Ethiopia's sociocultural context and ecological setting. Lower crop yields are the direct result of soil degradation, and agricultural households experience increased rates of poverty as a result.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    T1  - Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation in Ethiopia: A Review
    
    AU  - Amanuel Tadesse
    AU  - Worku Hailu
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    JF  - International Journal of Science and Qualitative Analysis
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    AB  - The term "land degradation" refers to the deterioration of the land's quality and that of its surrounding components due to either natural or artificial factors. The most frequent cause of land deterioration in Ethiopia is water-induced soil erosion. Due to decreased agricultural soil fertility, land degradation has a detrimental effect on Ethiopia's economy as well as agricultural production. It is now a significant issue impacting all aspect of Ethiopians' social, political, and economic lives. It is one of the main obstacles to the nation's agricultural growth and food security. Rapid population growth, significant soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, insufficient vegetative cover, uneven crop production on steep slopes, erosive rainfall patterns, a lack of fallowing, and inadequate conservation measures are the main drivers of land degradation in Ethiopia's highlands. The consequences of land degradation include the loss of fertile soil, which reduces the amount of land that can be used for agriculture. The state of family food security is negatively impacted by land degradation, which also directly lowers livelihoods in rural areas and has catastrophic effects on Ethiopia's sociocultural context and ecological setting. Lower crop yields are the direct result of soil degradation, and agricultural households experience increased rates of poverty as a result.
    
    VL  - 10
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