Correlates Of Inorganic Fertilizer Consumption Among Smallholder Farmers In Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated the correlates of inorganic fertilizer consumption among smallholder farmers in Abia State, Nigeria A multi-stage random sampling technique was employed in selected local government areas, communities and respondents from the three agricultural zones (Aba, Ohafia and Umuahia) of the state. The sample size was 150. The results of the linear functional model indicate that four (farmer incomes, farm experiences, transportation costs and price of 50 kg fertilizer bag) out of the eight variables were key determinants of the smallholder farmers' fertilizer consumption at 5% risk level. However the combined effects of all the variables explained 57.6 percent of the variations in the total fertilizer consumption rate of the smallholder farmers in Abia state Nigeria. Higher level of subsidy on fertilizer is recommended as a deliberate policy to increase the fertilizer consumption propensity of the smallholder farmers.