Reduced fertility of the land and poor capacity of the community to use agriculture inputs, increasing agriculture inputs cost are forced communities to follow extensive agriculture. As a result expansion of farmland to marginalized and forest areas, aggravating deforestation, land degradation and soil erosion are becoming common and serious problems in OSRA’s intervention areas.

Land and environmental degradation have threatened the livelihood of the rural households. If these are not addressed properly, it will not only increase the vulnerability of the poor households, but also negatively affects the future generation’s capacity to generate their livelihoods. In this respect, OSRA promote sustainable agriculture practices through planting multipurpose tree seedlings, promoting environmentally friendly farming systems, and creating awareness on land and environmental degradation and their consequences on the life the people.

To combat the negative effects of environmental degradation, OSRA has been conducting physical and biological soil conservation activities in its intervention areas. Among others, tree seedling production and distribution; check dam constructions are given emphasis in the effort to protect the environment.