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Farmers’ perceptions and attitudes towards introduced soil-fertility enhancing technologies in western Africa

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/5111/
Http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1009745225465
 
Title Farmers’ perceptions and attitudes towards introduced soil-fertility enhancing technologies in western Africa
 
Creator Enyong, L A
Debrah, S K
Bationo, A
 
Subject Soil Science
Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Fertilizer Appications
 
Description Soil fertility enhancing technologies (SFETs) have been promoted in the West African Semi-Arid Tropics
(WASAT) for many years with limited success. Using a qualitative approach of focus group discussions, long, openended
interviews and observations from field visits, this paper explores with farmers their beliefs and rationales
behind the adoption or non-adoption of SFETs. Farmers are knowledgeable about, and practise SFETs of rock
phosphate application, crop residue and farm yard manure, chemical fertilizer and crop rotation to combat soil
fertility decline. Their attitudes to and rationales behind adoption decisions are influenced by the availability
and use policies of land and labour resources, food security concerns, perceived profitability, contribution to
sustainability and access to information. Some of the factors are beyond farmers’ control and require a broad
and integrated effort from research, extension and government to promote the use of the SFETs in the region.
 
Publisher Springer
 
Date 1999
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/5111/1/NutrCyclAgro53%282%29177-187.pdf
Enyong, L A and Debrah, S K and Bationo, A (1999) Farmers’ perceptions and attitudes towards introduced soil-fertility enhancing technologies in western Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 53 (2). pp. 177-187. ISSN 1385-1314