DETERMINANTS OF FERTILIZER USAGE AMONG RICE FARMERS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA
J. C. UDEMEZUE *
National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, P.M.B. 7006, Abia State, Nigeria.
H. U. NWALIEJI
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Nigeria.
G. M. NNENA
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study investigated the determinants of fertilizer usage among rice farmers in Anambra state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling techniques were used for the study. Four local governments out of the 21 local governments in the state were purposively selected due to their popularity in rice production. Two communities were selected from each local government to give a total of 8 communities that used for the research. The population of rice farmers in Anambra State is 25,000 (Wikipedia.org/Wiki/AnambraState,2010).
Fifteen (15) rice farmers were selected from each community using simple randomly sampling techniques and this gave a total sample size of120 farmers. Data were collected through a structured interviewed schedule. Percentage, frequency, mean score and regression model were used for data analysis. Results show that 70.8% of the farmers were male while 29.2% of the farmers were male. The average mean age of the farmers was 39years while the average mean for household was 5. About 39.2% of the farmers were married and 23.3% of them were single. The average farm size for rice was 1.6ha. Similarly, the average mean for farming experience was 11 years while the majority (98%) of farmers did not practice shifting cultivation. About 100% of the farmers sourced agro input from input dealers while 85% of them used fertilizer at a very high rate. Out of thirteen variables investigated, only five variables were found to be statistically significant as regards to the determinants of fertilizer usage among rice farmers in the study area. They were farm size (t=8.827,p=0.00), level of soil fertility (-3.988,p=0.000), perceived constraint(t=-5.223,p=0.000), farming practice (t=4.050,p=0.000) and training received (t=2.949,p=0.004).
Keywords: Determinants, fertilizer usage, rice farmers