A study to examine fertilizer use knowledge and the effect of fertilizer use on maize productivity in Lugazi municipality , Buikwe district in Uganda .

Abstract

Despite the importance associated with use of fertilizers, it’s still faced with numerous challenges. Although different initiatives and interventions have been undertaken by the government and other bodies to encourage adoption of fertilizers, adoption is still minimal with only eight percent of the farming households are using inorganic fertilizers. While farmers are often being blamed for not utilizing these fertilizers even when important measures have been put in place, it’s very important to understand why? Many farmers don’t possess sufficient technical knowledge regarding the use of these fertilizers. Therefore, this study sought to address this gap by investigating the level of fertilizer use knowledge among maize farmers, investigating the effect of fertilizer use on maize productivity and lastly to determine the factors that influence the purchasing behavior of farmers towards fertilizers.

The study was conducted in Lugazi municipality Buikwe district and 97 farming households were randomly selected to participate in the study. The results showed that farmers, who utilized fertilizers were mostly male and married, used more organic fertilizers followed by NPK and showed less adherence to the standard recommended practices. The linear regression analysis results revealed that the significant determinant for maize productivity is; fertilizer use, access to extension services, quantity of seeds used, knowledge on pest control methods. Price consideration, recommendations from extension workers and fellow farmers, soil quality and availability of fertilizers were the major factors that induced fertilizer purchases by maize farmers. The study concludes by recommending thorough extension services through farmer education programs to enhance farmer fertilizer use knowledge, also incorporating fertilizers use and its advantage in the extension program provided to farmers to improve maize productivity