FARMERS PERCEPTIONS ON SOIL EROSION IN SEBEYA CATCHMENT, RWANDA

Soil erosion is one of the major causes of land degradation which result in low agriculture productivity. Especially, western part of Rwanda including Sebeya catchment has high susceptibility to erosion leading to huge amounts of soil loss. This study held to explore the actual status of soil erosion in Sebeya catchment. Global Information System data were used for catchment delineation. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Specifically, 75 farmers living and having farm lands in the catchment were interviewed in terms of knowledge on soil erosion, causes and control measures. The results showed that streambank erosion is due to the erosive power of runoff from uplands areas with (18.7%). The main natural causes of soil erosion in Sebeya catchment are heavy rainfall (69.33%) and the slope steepness (28%). Public and private land conservation agencies should be more involved in soil management centred on farmer’s awareness and capacity building.