Soil Erosion Impacts on Crop Productivity and Its Implications on Food Security in Kechabira District, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract Soil erosion has influenced the environmental quality and agricultural productivity of the land. The household survey and combined geospatial techniques were applied to carry out the research. The SRTM digital elevation dataset was used for morphometric analysis of relief and drainage systems in the study area. Landsat 4-5-TM C 2 L 2 images between 2005–2020 were applied for analysis of land use and land cover dynamics. Furthermore, FAO/USDA Soil map of the world was used for soil classification, and soil laboratory analysis was also taken place to find out the depletion of soil micronutrients by soil erosion. Results of morphometric analysis revealed that the topographic nature of the surface, slope gradient of the area, drainage feature of rivers and land use/land cover conditions of soil surface are found to be facilitating factors of soil erosion in the district. Most of the respondents also confirmed that over cultivation, cultivation of steep slopes, deforestation, over-grazing, unreliable soil management practices and poor agricultural techniques are the main causes for the prevalence of soil erosion in the study area. About 91% of the interviewed households have observed a decline in the productivity of land in their farm field. Similarly, the crop productivity per hectare for selected dominantly produced crops decreased over 5 cropping years between 2013–2017. According to soil laboratory analysis, the soil of the study area is characterized by moderately acidic, low category of OM and organic carbon content, low proportion of available phosphorus and very low to low range of total nitrogen. Most of the surveyed households are food insecure due to loss of agricultural productivity by soil erosion. It is recommended that combating the severity of the soil degradation problem by applying various soil management practices should be critically considered.