Fertilizer Adoption Research Articles

Assessing Grain Yield and Achieving Enhanced Quality in Maize by Next Generation Fertilizer: A Review

It explores the potential of advanced fertilizers in improving maize yield and quality while addressing environmental and socioeconomic concerns. Investigating the innovations in fertilizer technologies and their impact on maize cultivation, identifying research gaps and suggesting policy recommendations. The potential of advanced fertilizers for enhancing maize yield and quality while tackling environmental and socioeconomic issues: Advanced fertilizers, marked by enhanced nutrient use efficiency and targeted nutrient delivery, present valuable prospects for sustainable corn farming. This includes progress in fertilizer technologies, combined management strategies, and the effects of these cutting-edge products on corn yield and quality. Additionally, we explore research gaps, areas requiring further study, and policy suggestions to support the adoption of advanced fertilizers in corn production systems. By seizing these opportunities and addressing the related challenges, the global agricultural community can strive for more sustainable, efficient, and productive corn farming practices that contribute to improved food security and nutrition.

The Influential Factors of Organic Fertilizer Adoption among Farmers: A Review

The Influential Factors of Organic Fertilizer Adoption among Farmers: A Review

Climate vulnerability and fertilizer use – panel evidence from Tanzanian maize farmers

ABSTRACT Chemical fertilizers can significantly improve agricultural productivity but their environmental sustainability is much debated. This paper contributes to a growing body of research on the drivers of chemical fertilizer use under climate vulnerability. We study the impact of climate risk (measured as rainfall abundance, rainfall variability, temperature and temperature shock) on fertilizer use by Tanzanian maize farmers using Probit regression analysis on spatially disaggregated agronomic panel survey data for the years 2016 and 2017. Our results show that fertilizer use is extremely sensitive to climate risks, even when accounting for actually observed input prices, the main contribution of this study. Our findings suggest that as the climate crisis escalates with erratic rainfalls and warmer climate, chemical fertilizers will become increasingly less reliable to ensure food security for a growing population as farmers’ fertilizer adoption decision is highly responsive to climate variability. This lends support to arguments that perfunctory promotion of chemical fertilizers is at odds with sustainable intensification agricultural policies.

Access to credit and heterogeneous effects on agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from large rural surveys in Ethiopia

AbstractModern agricultural technologies hold huge potential for increasing productivity and reducing poverty in developing countries. However, adoption levels of these technologies have remained disappointingly low in Africa. This paper analyzes the effect of access to credit on the likelihood of adoption and use intensity of chemical fertilizers using data from large rural surveys in Ethiopia. Using a heteroscedasticity‐based identification strategy to address the endogenous nature of access to credit, we find that access to credit has significant positive effects on adoption and intensity of use of chemical fertilizers. However, important heterogeneities are observed. Credit obtained from formal sources is more important for the intensity of use than for the decision to adopt chemical fertilizers. Credit taken with the primary purpose of financing agricultural inputs is more likely to promote adoption of chemical fertilizers than credit taken per se. Furthermore, reported credit effects are larger when estimated against the sample of credit‐constrained non‐users as compared with the pool of the whole sample of credit non‐users. The results remain robust to several sensitivity analyses. Our results yield useful implications for the design, promotion, and targeting of credit services to leverage their effect on adoption of agricultural technologies.

Utilization of Organic Fertilizer in Ghana: Implications for Crop Performance and Commercialization

Organic fertilizer commercialization may present a great opportunity to help deal with the issue of solid waste management and help improve the declining soil problems in many developing countries. Ghana’s solid waste is predominantly organic, which is suitable for organic fertilizer production. This paper seeks to establish relationship between organic fertilizer usage and crop farm performance and assess its commercialization potential. The study employed a farmer-survey and key informant interviews to generate data from 300 farmers randomly selected across three regions in Ghana. The computed organic fertilizer use rate is 42% among farmers surveyed, and organic fertilizer is primarily used in vegetable and maize production. The estimated current demand for organic fertilizer is about 0.7 million t/annum with a potential to rise to about 2.7 million t/annum in the long term. This will however require sensitization on its importance, availability, and affordability. The study has established a strong relationship between organic fertilizer adoption and farm performance increasing yield by 57%, income by 53%, and gross margins by 63%. There is obviously a cost reduction when organic fertilizer is adopted. Organic fertilizer adoption was found to be mainly related to farmer base organization membership status, access to extension services, access to organic fertilizer, and transport cost. Organic fertilizer commercialization has the potential to make Ghana a net exporter of fertilizer and create sustainable jobs for the youth. We recommend the use of organic fertilizer by farmers and highly recommend the commercial production of organic fertilizer.

Determinants of Fertilizer Adoption in Crop Production; a Case Study in Shebedneo District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia

Determinants of Fertilizer Adoption in Crop Production; a Case Study in Shebedneo District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia

The Level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Toward Organic Fertilizer Adoption among Almond Smallholder Farmers in Uruzgan, Afghanistan

The Level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Toward Organic Fertilizer Adoption among Almond Smallholder Farmers in Uruzgan, Afghanistan

Improved maize technology adoption and its intensity among male- and female-headed households in Dawuro zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

Both male- and female-headed farm households grow maize in Ethiopia. However, little is known about the difference between male- and female-headed households in the adoption of high-yielding technologies for maize. This study examines the difference between male- and female-headed households in their decision to adopt and the intensity of adoption of improved maize technologies in Dawuro zone, Southwestern Ethiopia. The study uses primary data collected in 2018 from 560 maize-producing households in Dawuro zone, Ethiopia. As the female-headed households are not homogenous, this study separately assessed gender differences in improved maize technology adoption between de facto female-headed households and de jure female-headed households. The results show that the intensity of adoption of improved maize varieties (IMVs) and chemical fertilizers on plots managed by male-headed households is statistically different from those managed by female-headed households. The intensity of adoption of IMVs and chemical fertilizers by female-headed household is lower compared to male-headed households. As economic status is a key driver of the adoption of IMVs and fertilizer application, it is recommended that the policies and programs that aim at developing and disseminating quality maize seeds and fertilizers in Dawuro zone should support economically poor female-headed households, particularly, de jure female heads.

The role of social capital in adoption of risky versus less risky subsidized input supplies: An empirical study of cocoa farmers in Ghana

This study evaluates the effect of social capital on farmers’ adoption of subsidized seedlings and fertilizer for cocoa farmers in Ghana. We distinguish three types of social capital: network social capital, relationship social capital, and community social capital. Network social capital refers to the peer-to-peer information flow about product benefits reaching farmers, therefore closing the information asymmetry that prevents farmers from social learning about crop risk management through inputs adoption. Relationship social capital considers the role of social status in getting facilitated access to inputs through connections with extension officers who facilitate information dissemination about input benefits, and moreover potentially help bypass the government criteria in getting access to inputs themselves. Finally, community social capital concerns the community collective income, community size and reachability relative to the cooperative main office.We find that network social capital has a significant effect on adoption of subsidized seedlings, to an extent where it allows farmers to bypass subsidy qualification criteria for access to seedlings imposed by the government. This applies even more so for group and village leaders. Subsidized fertilizer uptake, on the other hand, is less dependent on social capital. We argue that this difference results from the risk involved in adopting seedlings versus fertilizer. In the case of seedlings adoption, relying on information provided by the social network promotes sharing of benefits of hybrid varieties, and thus reduces the risk of its application. Adoption of fertilizer, on the other hand, is not correlated with social capital because fertilizer application is less risky to farmers. They can easily switch from using fertilizer to not using fertilizer. Access to both inputs is influenced by government inputs’ eligibility criteria, namely having mapped farm. However, we find that 15% and 29% of farmers respectively have access to seedlings and fertilizer, even though their farms are not mapped. Our findings suggest that for governments to stimulate uptake of substantive inputs, such as seedlings, subsidies should coincide with attention to social capital and fair distribution of inputs.

Impact assessment of Striga resistant maize varieties and fertilizer use in Ghana: A panel analysis

AbstractThis study analyzes the impact of a component of climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) technology—Striga‐resistant maize (SRM) varieties and mineral fertilizer—on maize yield and food security using two rounds of panel data in Ghana. The study employs a multinomial endogenous switching regression model and finds that joint adoption of SRM varieties and mineral fertilizer increased maize yield by 872 kg/ha, food consumption scores by 17, and consumption per adult equivalent unit by 38 kg/ha. The positive impact of maize yield is high among adopters of multiple CSA technologies. The result is robust to an alternative endogeneity‐correcting model and the implications of the findings are discussed.

The Effect of Technical Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers' Adoption of Organic Fertilizers in China: Based on the Mediation Role of Ability and Perception.

Organic fertilizers can be crucial in promoting sustainable agricultural development, but they are not used in a wide-ranging way among smallholder farmers in many developing countries. In China, cooperatives are considered essential subjects of agricultural technical training, but it is more common to join cooperatives without participating in their technical training. Thus, joining cooperatives or not cannot simply be used to assess the role of cooperatives in influencing the farmers' production behavior. Based on survey data of 1160 citrus farmers in Sichuan Province, China, this study estimated the effect of the technical training provided by agricultural cooperatives on farmers' adoption of organic fertilizers, taking into account the farmers' ability and perception as the mediation variables. The findings showed that participating in the technical training provided by agricultural cooperatives could significantly enhance the likelihood that farmers will adopt organic fertilizers. The impact was 81.6% in influencing the farmer's abilities and 7.64% in their perceptions of organic fertilizers. Furthermore, other variables, such as farm sizes, land transfers, and education levels, also make a difference in the effectiveness of the agricultural cooperatives' technical training. This study provides support for developing pertinent policies to promote the complete adoption of agricultural cooperatives' technical training functions and the widespread use of organic fertilizers.

The Relationship between Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice toward Organic Fertilizer Adoption among Almond Smallholder Farmers in Uruzgan, Afghanistan

Almonds are an important dried fruit and second in the ranking, after raisin and grape, in Afghanistan. The decline in their production is due to low levels of technology adoption, as well as the extreme use and poor timing of inorganic fertilizer application in the Uruzgan Province. Since organic fertilizers are vital to producing quality almonds, this study examined the relationship between the knowledge, attitude, and practice related to the adoption of organic fertilizer. This study applied the technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate the adoption of organic fertilizer. The Tarin Kowt District was purposively selected, as it represents the top almond-producing district of Uruzgan Province. A multi-stage sampling survey was employed with 116 almond smallholder farmers. The results show a positive and significant effect of practice and knowledge on organic fertilizer adoption. To improve organic fertilizer adoption, knowledge and practice should be advocated among almond smallholder farmers. This research contributes to the demonstration of practical training methods and participation in technology, as training is the most important factor in providing information about organic fertilizer adoption and could have a higher chance of stimulating farmers to adopt organic fertilizers.

Effect of Intercropping and Bio-Fertilizer Application on the Nutrient Uptake and Productivity of Mung Bean and Marjoram

The adoption of eco-friendly fertilizers is increasingly perceived as a sustainable avenue for improving the quantity and quality of medicinal and aromatic plants. Here, we investigated how intercropping and bio-fertilizer application impacted the productivity and essential oil quality of mung bean and marjoram. Treatments were conducted using mung bean monocropping (MBm) and marjoram monocropping (Om), as well as additive intercropping ratios (100% marjoram + 15% mung bean (O/15MB), 100% marjoram + 30% mung bean (O/30MB), 100% marjoram + 45% mung bean (O/45MB), 100% marjoram + 60% mung bean (O/60MB)), each with/without application of biofertilizers (mycorrhiza fungi and bacteria fertilizer). We found that N, P and K content in marjoram and mung bean was highest in the intercropped O/30MB and O/45MB. The maximum land equivalent ratio (LER) index (1.6) was recorded for the O/15MB treatment following biofertilizer application, indicating that 59% more area in the monocropping treatment would be required to achieve the same yield as for the intercropping treatments. The maximum content of carvacrol, p-cymene and carvacrol methyl ether was obtained for the O/45MB treatment under biofertilizer. These results indicate that intercropping of marjoram/mung bean (especially O/45MB) along with biofertilizer application may pave the way towards more sustainable agronomy for improving essential oil quantity and quality.

Determinants of Organic Fertilizer Adoption in Moretna Jeru District, Northern Ethiopia

Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy. It is responsible for 35.45% of the country’s total domestic output. This means that the sector is critical for enhancing the lives of the wider population. Despite its importance, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector produces little. The Ethiopian government has focused on increasing the usage of organic fertilizers to improve this and overall economic growth. Organic fertilizer use is still inadequate in most parts of Ethiopia, including Moretna Jeru District in North Shewa Zone, Amhara region. The main objective of this study was to investigate factors that influence the adoption (use) of organic fertilizer technology in Moretna Jeru District. For this study, primary data were acquired from 192 smallholder farmers who were chosen at random throughout the 2020/21 growing seasons. The factors influencing organic fertilizer adoption were investigated using a probit model. Farmers’ characteristics such as extension contact, number of livestock, landownership via title deed, and household size have a favorable and significant impact on organic fertilizer usage. Farmers should be encouraged to use manure technology. This would be attainable if the government, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders focused more on improving extension services and providing better information and training on the use of organic fertilizers.

Mobile Money, Agricultural Intensification, and Household Welfare: Panel Evidence from Rural Uganda

AbstractWe examine the impact of the rapidly expanding mobile banking service “mobile money” on rural households’ decision to adopt modern agricultural inputs and its resultant effect on agricultural income using plot, household, and community-level panel data from rural Uganda. The main findings indicate that mobile money adoption increases per capita farm income by 13%. Pathway analyses show that mobile money adoption increases the likelihood of using chemical fertilizer on maize plots by 11 percentage points. Mobile money adoption increases the likelihood of high-yielding maize seeds adoption on maize plots by 8.2 percentage points. In the Ugandan context of rapid decline in soil fertility and very low adoption of fertilizer and modern seeds, mobile money provides an avenue to finance agricultural intensification.

Organic Fertilizer and Mulch Effects on the Physical Properties of an Alfisol and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Yield

ABSTRACT Concerns about soil physical health deterioration have led to a paradigm shift from conventional farming systems to organic farming systems. However, the adoption of organic fertilizers is slow in many sub-Saharan African countries, where shifting cultivation is still prevalent. Hence, a two-year split-plot field experiment was conducted to assess the potentials of organic fertilizer (OF) applied at 0 (OF0), 10 (OF10), 15 (OF15), 20 (OF20) and 25 (OF25) t ha−1; and Chromolaena odorata mulch (M) applied at 0 (M0), 15 (M15) and 30 (M30) t ha−1; in improving the physical properties of an alfisol and ginger (Zingiber officinale) yield. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Both organic amendments (organic fertilizer and mulch) reduced soil bulk density (ρb) and air pores, while markedly increasing soil total porosity (PT), moisture content and water-filled pores in both years of the study. Though both organic amendments significantly increased plant height of ginger, Chromolaena odorata mulch proved superior to organic fertilizer with a consistent substantial increase in the number of leaves and yield of ginger. Our results showed that applying 20 t ha−1 organic fertilizer or 15 t ha−1 mulch could be sufficient for improving the physical properties and productivity of an alfisol cultivated for ginger production.

The Effect of Land Right Stability on the Application of Fertilizer Reduction Technologies—Evidence from Large-Scale Farmers in China

This article examines the impact of the stability of the management rights of transferred land (TLMR) on the adoption of technologies aiming to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers (ARFTs) based on the survey data of large-scale grain growing households in Anhui, China. Using the IV-Probit model, the present paper defines the stability of TLMR and the results estimated by IV-Probit model shows that a one-year extension of land lease period can increase the probability of using organic fertilizer and soil-testing formula fertilizer by 3.16% and 4.92%, respectively, while contract breaching in the lease period can reduce the probability of using organic fertilizer and soil-testing formula fertilizer by 46.9% and 51.38%, respectively. However, the land-lease period and land transfer contract breaching in the lease period have no significant effect on the use of farmyard manure by large-scale grain growing households. The main conclusion is that improving the stability of TLMR is conducive to prompting large-scale grain growing households to adopt ARFTs, especially the adoption of organic fertilizer and soil-testing formula fertilizer. The government should improve the stability of TLMR by standardizing the form and content associated with land transfer contracts and setting the minimum land-lease term.

A meta-analysis of the adoption of agricultural technology in Sub-Saharan Africa

Both global poverty and hunger have increased in recent years, endangering progress towards accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2. The regression has been most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Meeting the SDG targets requires achieving resilient farm productivity. Although many farm management technologies exist to improve yields, farmers in SSA largely have not adopted these approaches. A long-standing literature about technology adoption identifies multiple hypotheses as to why farmers may or may not adopt new agricultural technologies, culminating in numerous micro-econometric studies. We analyse a metadata set capturing the findings of 164 published studies specifically focusing on SSA and show that 20 out of 38, or 53%, of the determinants commonly believed to influence technology adoption lack empirical support. Eighteen determinants—primarily related to information access, wealth, group membership and social capital, and land tenure—consistently influence adoption across studies. Wealth remains a significant determinant of fertilizer adoption, despite long-running subsidies in most countries, although it is decoupled from the adoption of improved seeds and alternative crop and nutrient management technologies. We highlight the foundational determinants of adoption and offer guidance to design effective interventions that can decrease poverty and hunger towards 2030.

Preferences of Small-Scale Farmers for Innovative Farming Techniques in Volcanic Highlands in Rwanda

This paper attempted to identify the determinant factors of innovative technologies preferences by small-scale farmers in the Volcanic Highlands in Rwanda. Data used were collected from a random sample of 401 small-scale crop producers using a structured questionnaire in the study area. A logit regression model was specified, whereby a binary maximum likelihood estimation method was used to identify the factors affecting of the adoption of chemical fertilizers, the determinants of the combined use of chemical and organic fertilizers, the determinants of the adoption of improved seeds, as well as the determinant factors of appropriate use of pesticides. The results showed that farmer’s education level, farming experience, membership to farm cooperative, the number of extension visits, and crop farming are the factors that affect positively the probability of adopting one or other of the four innovative farming techniques. From these results, we suggest the enhancement of extension services and other needed support to small-scale farmers (grants and subsidies, access to finance for example), the spread of professional trainings to farmers, and the increased farmers’ access to high-yielding seed varieties if farming professionalization and innovative farming techniques are still among the development goals.

Influence of socio-economic attributes of farmers on the adoption of orchard management practices of mandarin in Myagdi district, Nepal

Mandarin is one of the major and highly commercialized fruit crops of Nepal. However, its productivity is widely varied throughout the country. The association of socio-economic characteristics of the farmers with the adoption of different orchard management practices and ultimately productivity is less known. Therefore, survey research was conducted in the Myagdi district to study the influence of socio-economic attributes on the adoption of different orchard management practices and their relation to the productivity of mandarin. A total sample size of 94 was selected by simple random sampling technique and interviewed with a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Data were entered and analyzed using MS Excel, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and STATA, and the inferences were retrieved using the binary logistic regression model and multiple linear regression model. The study showed that the education level of the farmers has a positive influence on the adoption of mulching (p = 0.04) and pruning (p = 0.07). The secondary income source of the household has a positive impact on the adoption of chemical fertilizers (p = 0.08) and pruning (p = 0.03). Commercial mandarin farming in larger area has a positive influence on the adoption of Bordeaux mixture (p = 0.03) and insect management (p = 0.01). Extension services has great influence on the adoption of chemical fertilizers (p = 0.02), mulching (p = 0.03), Bordeaux mixture (p = 0.00) and insect management (p = 0.1). However, education level (p = 0.05), area under mandarin farm (p = 0.09), and extension services (p = 0.00) discourage the adoption of intercropping in the mandarin orchard. The productivity of mandarin orchards was significantly enhanced by FYM application, chemical fertilizers, irrigation, weeding, and Bordeaux application. This study shows that the farmers with better socio-economic conditions are more likely to adopt improved management practices in mandarin orchard which in turn enhance their productivity.