Abstract
The study analysed the assessment of organic fertilizer usage by vegetable farmers in Ondo State South West, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from one hundred randomly selected vegetable farmers through a multistage sampling procedure in the study area. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and probit regression analysis. Findings of the study revealed that larger percentage (77.0%) of the vegetable farmers fall between age (31-50) years with mean age 43. About 59% of the respondents were female with majority (79.0%) having access to credit. Majority (63.0%) of the respondents suffer from high pest infestation. The budgetary analysis revealed that vegetable production has a high return on investment. The probit analysis showed that gender, age and farm size decreased farmer’s adoption of organic fertilizer while marital status, education and farming experience increased adoption of organic fertilizer in the study area. The study recommended that farmers should keep reasonable farm size that can easily be managed in other to improve adoption of organic fertilizer and they should be encouraged by government to participate in adult education and training that will improve their skill in the use of organic fertilizer in other to increase the productivity of vegetable production. Key words: Organic, fertilizer, farm size, budgetary analysis.
Highlights
The cultivation of vegetable serves as a means of livelihood for thousands of household both in the rural and urban communities
The mean age shows that majority of the sampled farmers are young and agile, which is an asset to adoption of organic farming innovation in the study area
This result agrees with the finding of Adeola and Adetunbi (2015) which shown that most farmers in SouthWestern Nigeria are still in their active age which falls between ages 31-40 years
Summary
The cultivation of vegetable serves as a means of livelihood for thousands of household both in the rural and urban communities. Most vegetables farmers in the rural community grow vegetable for commercial purpose in other to generate income while some in the urban centre cultivate vegetable for the purpose of nutritional and medicinal value. This view is supported by Ayethan et al (1995); Baral et al (2011) and Alegbejo (2013) who observed that vegetable has been reported to possess both nutritional and pharmacological properties.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
