Evaluating the Effects of Integrated Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Socioeconomic Performance of Upland Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) in Tselemti Wereda of North-Western Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

As agriculture is a livelihood, the social and economic outcomes are of paramount importance. A variety of biological and economic interactions between crop and livestock make crops-livestock integration appealing to the Ethiopian farmers. The ever-increasing price of inorganic fertilizers (IF) is becoming a main problem for majority of farmers. Hence there is a need for alternative low cost soil fertility enhancing technologies. Based on this fact, both field experiment and survey were conducted during 2011/12 cropping season to evaluate the effect of integrated application of inorganic fertilizers and FYM on socioeconomics of upland rice. For the field experiment, a 4x3 factorial experiment consisting of four levels of inorganic fertilizers (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg/ha) and three levels of FYM (0, 6 and 9 t/ha) was laid out in RCB Design with three replications. Rice (variety: NERICA-3) was planted in rows. The results revealed that the higher agronomic yield (4440 kg/ha) did not brought highest profit because the value of the increase in yield is not enough to compensate for the increase in costs. The highest MRR (2018%) was between treatments 1 and 9 and use of 6t/ha of FYM with no inorganic fertilizer. Hence, FYM could be used instead of inorganic fertilizers to get higher net economic benefit but due to the problem of unavailability of FYM in excess amount, farmers could use the third highest MRR which is 1356%. Hence, it would be reasonable to conclude that integrating FYM along with inorganic fertilizers would be the best alternative because this not only increased the rice yield but also improved the fertility status of the soil, and could save part of the money that would have been paid for the greater doses of the chemical fertilizer and is socially acceptable. The perception of the respondent farmers to inorganic fertilizers showed that 76% of the respondents had no willingness to use inorganic fertilizers at full dose. Keywords: FYM, Inorganic fertilizers, ,Integrated Nutrient Management, Marginal Rate of Return, Farmers’ perception, Sustainability, Upland Rice, Ethiopia.