scholarly journals Modelling smallholder farmers’ preferences for soil fertility management technologies in Benin: A stated preference approach

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253412
Author(s):  
Segla Roch Cedrique Zossou ◽  
Patrice Ygue Adegbola ◽  
Brice Tiburce Oussou ◽  
Gustave Dagbenonbakin ◽  
Roch Mongbo
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Latent Class Models ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Sub Saharan

The decline of soil fertility is a major constraint which results in lower levels of crop productivity, agricultural development and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study is the first to perform a focalized investigation on the most interesting technological profiles to offer to each category of producers in Benin agricultural development hubs (ADHs) using the stated preference method, more precisely, the improved choice experiment method. The investigation focused on 1047 sampled plots from 962 randomly selected producers in villages of the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Program in Sub-Saharan Africa of the ADHs. An analysis of the experimental choice data with the endogenous attribute attendance and the latent class models was carried out to account for the attribute non-attendance phenomenon and the heterogeneity of the producers’ preferences. However, three classes of producer with different socio-economic, demographic, and soil physicochemical characteristics were identified. Thus, the heterogeneity of preferences was correlated with the attributes linked to the cost, sustainability, and frequency of plot maintenance. All producers, regardless of the ADHs, had a strong attachment to accessibility of technologies with short time restoration of soil fertility, and the ability to obtain additional benefits. These latest attributes, added to that relating to cost, tended to have a low probability of rejection in the decision-making process. These results have implications for local decision-makers facing the complex problem of resolving land degradation and local economic development challenges. The generalizability of these findings provides useful insight and direction for future studies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals DETERMINANTS OF THE DECISION TO ADOPT INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF KENYA

2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAYNE MUGWE ◽  
DANIEL MUGENDI ◽  
MONICAH MUCHERU-MUNA ◽  
ROEL MERCKX ◽  
JONAS CHIANU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Integrated Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Fertility Management ◽  
Central Highlands

SUMMARYDeclining soil fertility is a major cause of low per capita food production on smallholder farms of sub-Saharan Africa. This study attempted to provide an empirical explanation of the factors associated with farmers' decisions to adopt or not to adopt newly introduced integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies consisting of combinations of organics and mineral fertilizer in Meru South district of the central highlands of Kenya. Out of 106 households interviewed, 46% were ‘adopters’ while 54% were ‘non-adopters’. A logistic regression model showed that the factors that significantly influenced adoption positively were farm management, ability to hire labour and months in a year households bought food for their families, while age of household head and number of mature cattle negatively influenced adoption. The implication of these results is that the adoption of ISFM practices could be enhanced through targeting of younger families where both spouses work on the farm full-time and food insecure households. It is also important to target farmers that lack access to other sources of soil fertility improvement. Examples include farmers that do not own cattle or those owning few and who, therefore, have limited access to animal manure.

Soil and Soil Fertility Management Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Mutsaers ◽  
Danny Coyne ◽  
Stefan Hauser ◽  
Jeroen Huising ◽  
Alpha Kamara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Fertility Management ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Impact of Soil Fertility Improving Trees on Crop Productivity and Farmer Wealth in Zambia

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Elias Kuntashula
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Maize Productivity ◽  
Sub Saharan

There has been low uptake of soil fertility improving tree technologies that have been promoted as alternatives to the costly inorganic fertiliser among the poor resource farmers of Sub Saharan Africa. This is surprising given that the majority of smallholder farmers cannot afford inorganic fertilisers. Are these technologies effective? Using data collected in 2013 from 1,231 households across six districts of Zambia, this study showed that the tree technologies increased maize productivity. However, increases in maize productivity were less than those obtained from controlled on-station and field experiments where the technologies could double or more than double maize productivity according to literature. The technologies capacity to marginally contribute to wealth creation was confirmed. Socioeconomic constraints including labour, information access, land and credit need to be tackled for the technologies to give maximum benefits. Research on fertiliser trees should therefore be redirected towards the discovery of such resource constraints saving technologies. 

Soil Fertility Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
pp. 205-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cargele Masso ◽  
Generose Nziguheba ◽  
James Mutegi ◽  
Corinne Galy-Lacaux ◽  
John Wendt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Fertility Management ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Integrated soil fertility management in sub-Saharan Africa: unravelling local adaptation

SOIL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 491-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vanlauwe ◽  
K. Descheemaeker ◽  
K. E. Giller ◽  
J. Huising ◽  
R. Merckx ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Integrated Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
Fertility Management ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract. Intensification of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is necessary to address rural poverty and natural resource degradation. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) is a means to enhance crop productivity while maximizing the agronomic efficiency (AE) of applied inputs, and can thus contribute to sustainable intensification. ISFM consists of a set of best practices, preferably used in combination, including the use of appropriate germplasm, the appropriate use of fertilizer and of organic resources, and good agronomic practices. The large variability in soil fertility conditions within smallholder farms is also recognized within ISFM, including soils with constraints beyond those addressed by fertilizer and organic inputs. The variable biophysical environments that characterize smallholder farming systems have profound effects on crop productivity and AE, and targeted application of agro-inputs and management practices is necessary to enhance AE. Further, management decisions depend on the farmer's resource endowments and production objectives. In this paper we discuss the "local adaptation" component of ISFM and how this can be conceptualized within an ISFM framework, backstopped by analysis of AE at plot and farm level. At plot level, a set of four constraints to maximum AE is discussed in relation to "local adaptation": soil acidity, secondary nutrient and micronutrient (SMN) deficiencies, physical constraints, and drought stress. In each of these cases, examples are presented whereby amendments and/or practices addressing these have a significantly positive impact on fertilizer AE, including mechanistic principles underlying these effects. While the impact of such amendments and/or practices is easily understood for some practices (e.g. the application of SMNs where these are limiting), for others, more complex processes influence AE (e.g. water harvesting under varying rainfall conditions). At farm scale, adjusting fertilizer applications to within-farm soil fertility gradients has the potential to increase AE compared with blanket recommendations, in particular where fertility gradients are strong. In the final section, "local adaption" is discussed in relation to scale issues and decision support tools are evaluated as a means to create a better understanding of complexity at farm level and to communicate appropriate scenarios for allocating agro-inputs and management practices within heterogeneous farming environments.

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