Determinants of Inorganic Fertilizer Use Intensity on Cereal Crop among Smallholder Farmers: The Case of Toke Kutaye District, West Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was aimed at analyzing determinants of inorganic fertilizer use intensity on cereal crops among smallholder farmers in Toke Kutaye District, West Shewa Zone, Ethiopia. Cross-sectional data were collected from 156 respondents using two-stage random sampling methods. Data analyses were carried out using descriptive statistics and the double hurdle model. The result of the first hurdle reveals that out of twelve explanatory variables, sex, education, off-farm income, land size, and improved seed were determined positively, whereas age and distance from the nearest market determined smallholders' use of inorganic fertilizer negatively. The results of the second stage of the double hurdle model indicate that, out of twelve explanatory variables, sex, family size, and land size positively affected the extent (intensity) of inorganic fertilizer use, whereas age and distance of the household from the nearest market negatively affected the intensity of use. Therefore, these results implied that there is room to increase the intensity of inorganic fertilizer use in cereal crop production. Hence, farmers' capacity to purchase this input, from lower income farmers to model farmers, should be acknowledged, and it should be designed to address those who have no ability to use inorganic fertilizer on their own farms through diverse development interventions