Factors affecting the use of organic fertilizer among vegetable farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the factors affecting the use of organic fertilizer among vegetable farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 80 vegetable farmers selected through a three-stage sampling technique. Data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics used include mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage while Chi-square analysis was used to test the hypothesis of the study. The results revealed that majority of the farmers (77.50%) used poultry droppings and cow dung (55.00%) as organic fertilizers. Difficulty in the transportation of these organic fertilizers was seen as the major challenge faced by vegetable farmers as this had the highest mean score of 4.45. The socio economic characteristics significantly influence the nature of constraints faced by vegetable farmers and the use of organic fertilizer on their vegetable farms. Thus, it was recommended that researchers should look into a way that the bulkiness of organic fertilizer will be drastically reduced for easy transportation.

Keywords: Assessment, Compost, Constraints, Organic fertilizer, Transportation