Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Farmers’ Planting of Tree and Shrub Species in the Selected Highlands of Ethiopia

Tree and shrub species play an important role in farming and are preserved in a variety of environments. The selection and planting of these species are different based on socioeconomic and biophysical factors. Several researchers have examined trees and shrubs planting, mainly focusing on ecological aspects in the Ethiopian highlands. However, they gave limited attention to the socioeconomic factors that influence farmers’ decision to plant trees and shrubs. Therefore, this study was applied to assess socioeconomic factors and some biophysical aspects influencing farmers’ tree and shrub species planting. The topic is rarely examined in prior research in the highlands of Ethiopia. This study helps to provide specific evidence on how different socioeconomic issues influence farmers’ decisions on tree and shrub species planting. Three Ethiopian highland districts were selected purposefully for this study. Multiple linear regressions were employed to investigate the factors affecting the quantity of tree and shrub planting at a significance level of 5%. Factors influencing farmers’ tree and shrub planting on farmlands were empirically examined using econometric data analyses. The result showed that all predictor variables significantly influenced the total number of trees and shrubs planting on their own lands with a coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.719). Multiple linear regression models showed that family size, income, landholding, altitude, and age, had a significant influence in the model, in decreasing order of importance. The study result indicated that farmers had an interest in planting tree and shrub species on their farms as a source of income and environmental conservation. Socioeconomic issues, including family size, income, age, gender, and educational level of the household, and biophysical factors, like farm size and altitude, were identified as key determinants influencing the planting and management of trees and shrub species. This implies that policies and development interventions should recognize planting tree and shrub species as a key component of farming systems and adopt broad approaches. Overall, it is essential to incorporate policy measures into tree and shrub species planting to alleviate socioeconomic disparities and to ensure tree planting and appropriate management practices. This would boost rural livelihoods and environmental sustainability in highland areas.