Abstract
The study analyzed the economic effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the yield of maize in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study used purposive sampling techniques and data were collected from one-hundred and twenty maize farmers through a well- structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics like multinomial logit regression and budgetary technique analysis. Results from descriptive analysis showed that 76.70% of the maize farmers were male while 78.90% were above 50 years old. The results further revealed that 66.70% of the farmers were married while 40.00% had secondary education and above. Majority (83.4%) of the respondents had about at least 5 members that constitute the household in the study area. It was revealed from the results that 90% of the farmers interviewed chose farming as their primary occupation. Also, 54.2% of the farmers had at least 4 hectares of farm size while 53.3 % of them had at most 21 years of farming experience. The determinants of choice for organic fertilizers were educational level, access to loan, access to extension contact, primary occupation and farm size, the determinants of choice for inorganic fertilizers were found to be educational level, primary occupation, farming experience, membership of cooperative and farm size. From the costs and returns breakdown of organic fertilizers users in the study area, the cost ratio showed that an inorganic farmer user that invested ₦1 realized ₦1.59 as revenue or gained ₦0.59k on each Naira expended, while an organic farmer user that invested ₦1 realized ₦1.67 as revenue or gained ₦0.67k on each Naira expended. If inorganic fertilizer will be difficult to access by farmers, then government must encourage farmers to use the organic type due to its cheapness and availability. It is therefore recommended that government should embark on moves that will encourage youths’ involvement in maize production and prevent the fertilizer subsidy program from going into extinction.
Highlights
Maize is the most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and an important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in SSA and Latin America [1]
74 percent had access to extension services. All this putting aside the use of fertilizer either organic or inorganic might have effect on the yield of maize farmers in the study area
The study concluded that the determinants of choice for organic fertilizers were educational level, access to loan, access to extension contact, primary occupation and farm size, the determinants of choice for inorganic fertilizers were found to be educational level, primary occupation, farming experience, membership of cooperative and farm size
Summary
Maize is the most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and an important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in SSA and Latin America [1]. In order to ensure food security and improve maize farmers’ economic situation, government initiative have been launched to increase yields with the help of fertilizer [3]. This initiative has enabled farmers to receive the support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in terms of access to subsidized fertilizer. Fertilizer use, especially the inorganic one is generally low in Africa as most farmers are satisfied with the fertility state of their soil. In Nigeria, the explanatory factors adduced to low fertilizer use include farmers’ awareness of fertilizer’s benefits, credit constraints and political instability [5]
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