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1.1 Background

With a population of about 73.9 million in 2007 and growing by 2.6 percent annually (PCC, 2008), Ethiopia is one of the largest and most populated countries in Africa. The country can also be regarded as the home of important biodiversity due to its range in physiographic features with altitudes ranging from 116 metres below sea level in the Dallol to 4,620 metres above sea level on Ras Dejen. Ethiopia's economy is primarily based on agriculture, which accounts for 50 percent of the gross domestic product (MoARD & WB, 2007). Some 83.9 percent of Ethiopia’s population lives in rural areas (PCC, 2008) and depends on the local land resources (soil, water and vegetation) to meet its basic needs for wellbeing (MoARD SLM Secretariat, 2008). Although 60 percent of the total land area is estimated to be potentially suitable for agricultural production, less than 15 percent is currently under cultivation. In spite of its vast agricultural potential, Ethiopia has been trapped in a vicious downward cycle of land resource degradation and poverty. As a result, the country has become dependent on external food support: it is one of the largest recipients of food aid in Africa (Sisay & Tesfaye, 2003).

Land degradation is the major environmental problem resulting in low and, in many places, declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity (Mesfin, 1992; Markos, 1997; Yeraswork, 2000; Woldeamlak, 2003; Aklilu, 2006). The average annual soil erosion rate nationwide was estimated at 12 tonnes per ha, giving a total annual soil loss of 1,493 million tonnes. The soil erosion hazard is much higher for land under annual crops as …