Subsistence farmers’ experience and perception about the soil, and fertilizer use in Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Low crop productivity, mainly caused by low soil fertility and absence of efficient and sustainable soil
fertility management practices, is a major constraint contributing to food shortage in Ethiopia. Though
several limitations restrict its use by small scale farmers, the use of inorganic fertilizers has been
suggested as one of the best approaches to address this problem. This study was conducted in Western
Ethiopia to assess the perception of farmers regarding the status of the soil, soil fertility problems and
important factors in the use of inorganic fertilizer using semi-structured questionnaires. The result
showed that farmers identified reddish brown and black soils as the predominant types of soils in the
survey area. Most farmers were aware that the fertility of the soil and the amount of fertilizer used in
their farms were declining over the last five decades. The highest proportion of farmers reported to
have problems in obtaining fertilizer at the right planting time. In addition, the high cost of fertilizer
was identified as one of the most important factors that hindered the use of inorganic fertilizer by
farmers. The majority of respondent farmers identified farmers’ cooperatives as the major supplier of
fertilizer. However, the highest proportion of respondent farmers (30.6%) rated the quality of service
of farmers’ cooperatives as bad. Hence, as a major supplier of fertilizer in Ethiopia, farmers
cooperatives need to improve the quality of their service in supplying fertilizer to farmers.