Modeling farmers’ decisions on integrated soil nutrient management in sub-Saharan Africa: a multinomial logit analysis in Cameroon

Abstract

Much of the technical work on integrated soil nutrient management in sub-Saharan Africa has not considered the determinants of farmers’ adoption decisions. It is important that technical research on these integrated soil nutrient management options be guided by consideration of the factors that determine farmers’ decisions to combine organic and inorganic nutrients. Economists investigating consumer demand have accumulated considerable evidence showing that the observed decision choice on an agricultural technology is the end result of a complex set of inter-technology preference comparisons made by farmers.

This study analyzes the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt different soil nutrient management practices in Cameroon. The technologies evaluated are inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers, and combine use of organic and inorganic fertilizers. A Multinomial Logit model was used to capture choice probabilities across these soil nutrient management categories. Data from a random survey of 217 peri-urban farmers are used in the investigation. The results show that the factors affecting farmers’ choices across the soil nutrient management categories are different and should be taken into consideration in efforts to promote integrated soil nutrient management practices within agroecosystems in rural areas of Cameroon. The study ends by raising a number of implications for strategies to promote integrated soil nutrient management among peri-urban gardening and fruit tree farmers in Cameroon