Soil Fertility Constraints and Economic Barriers Influencing Site-Specific Fertilizer Adoption among Smallholder Farmers in Southern Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Soil fertility decline and blanket (non–site‑specific) fertilizer use reduce productivity and harm the environment in sub‑Saharan Africa. This study identified factors constraining smallholder adoption of site‑specific fertilizer application in the southern guinea savanna of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A cross‑sectional survey used multi‑stage sampling to select three LGAs (Doma, Obi, Awe), three wards per LGA, and 20 farmers per ward (total (n=180)). A validated, pretested structured questionnaire collected socio‑economic data and perceived constraints. A 3‑point Likert scale (1 = very serious; 2 = serious; 3 = not serious) was used; means were interpreted with predefined decision rules. Respondents were predominantly youthful smallholders cultivating 2-3 ha; the modal age group was 31–40 years (ranging 40–75% across sampled villages) and many respondents held tertiary qualifications (approximately 45–65% in several villages). Across LGAs the most severe constraints were high fertilizer cost (mean range 1.29–1.33, overall ≈ 1.31), lack of access to credit (mean range 1.18-1.28, overall = 1.23), and high transportation costs/long distance to input markets (means by LGA 1.30, 1.18, 1.29; overall = 1.26). Intermittent fertilizer availability was rated serious to very serious (means 1.85-2.00, overall = 1.90). Farmer knowledge of fertilizer usage scored higher (less constraining; LGA means 1.93, 2.20, 2.86, overall = 2.33). Farm size and absence of cooperative groups were generally not perceived as major barriers (overall means = 2.64 and 2.39, respectively). Farmers reporting site‑specific practices indicated improved soil fertility and yields (qualitative reports within the survey). Economic and market‑access barriers; high input costs, limited credit, and poor input distributions are the primary impediments to wider adoption of site‑specific fertilizer management. Policies to reduce input costs, expand affordable credit, improve distribution, subsidize soil testing, and strengthen extension services and cooperatives are recommended.
Keywords: Site-specific fertilizer, Smallholder farmers, Fertilizer adoption, Economic barriers, Market constraints, Soil fertility, Credit access, Nigeria
