Abstract

The study analysed the assessment of organic fertilizer usage by vegetable farmers in Ondo State South West, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from one hundred randomly selected vegetable farmers through a multistage sampling procedure in the study area. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and probit regression analysis. Findings of the study revealed that larger percentage (77.0%) of the vegetable farmers fall between age (31-50) years with mean age 43. About 59% of the respondents were female with majority (79.0%) having access to credit. Majority (63.0%) of the respondents suffer from high pest infestation. The budgetary analysis revealed that vegetable production has a high return on investment. The probit analysis showed that gender, age and farm size decreased farmer’s adoption of organic fertilizer while marital status, education and farming experience increased adoption of organic fertilizer in the study area. The study recommended that farmers should keep reasonable farm size that can easily be managed in other to improve adoption of organic fertilizer and they should be encouraged by government to participate in adult education and training that will improve their skill in the use of organic fertilizer in other to increase the productivity of vegetable production.

Key words: Organic, fertilizer, farm size, budgetary analysis.