Analysing the Determinants of Adoption of Organic Fertilizer by Smallholder Farmers in Shashemene District, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was carried out in Shashemene district of Ethiopia, to evaluate factors affecting adoption and use intensity of organic fertilizer. Primary data was collected from randomly selected 213 non-adopters and systematically selected 155 adopters of organic fertilizer. The analysis employed Cragg’s double hurdle model. Results indicate that household size negatively influenced decision to adopt organic fertilizer while livestock numbers, extension contacts, access to information media and membership to farmer based organizations positively influenced the decision to adopt organic fertilizer. Besides, farm size and membership to farmer groups influenced intensity of adoption positively while farm income and frequency of organic fertilizer application influenced use intensity of organic fertilizer negatively. For smallholder farmers to benefit from adoption of organic fertilizer, interventions aimed at providing better extension services, better access to information media and farmer’s group formations are crucial. Encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in organic fertilizer processing plants would also improve availability of organic fertilizer for smallholder farmers.

Keywords: Organic fertilizer, Compost, Double hurdle model, Agriculture