Impact of Soil and Water Conservation Measures on Wheat Productivity and Farmers’ Income: Evidence from Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are considered vital for improving agricultural productivity and farmer income in areas vulnerable to soil erosion and climate variability. Nevertheless, the impact of SWC practices on wheat productivity and income remains unclear because of the presence of selection bias in adoption decisions. Data were gathered randomly from 335 wheat farmer household heads from purposively selected Woredas of Emba Alaje and Endamehoni and Tabias of Atsela, Sesat, and Mekhan via a multistage sampling technique. This study examines the impact of SWC practices on wheat yield and farmer income in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. It utilizes the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model, which addresses potential endogeneity in the adoption process. The ESR model indicates that, compared with nonadopter farmers, farmers who adopt SWC practices significantly (p < 0.01) experience increases in wheat yield and income of 18.9% and 25.6%, respectively. The findings of this study show that both wheat yield and income were more significant when farmers adopted SWC measures on their croplands. However, among the characteristics that impact SWC adoption, family size and asset values had favourable effects on nonadopters’ wheat productivity and income, whereas the sex of the farmer household head, education level, total annual income, and participation in farmer cooperatives had negative effects. For adopters, total annual income and the number of plots negatively impact wheat income, whereas asset values have a positive effect. Addressing these challenges can increase wheat productivity and income while also ensuring the efficiency of SWC practices in increasing farming productivity and economic resilience. This study highlights the benefits of SWC in boosting farming productivity and economic resilience. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers promoting sustainable land management practices for sustainable farming yields in the face of environmental challenges in semiarid regions.