Economics of Fertilizer Use in Maize Production Among Smallholder Farmers

Abstract

Fertilizer application has played a significant role in increasing food production in Kenya. However, its costs has been on the rise and is going beyond the reach of many farmers. This study was undertaken with the main objective of performing an economic analysis of fertilizer use among smallholder maize farmers in Kisii district. Farm and experimental response functions were estimated and used for economic analyses and the results compared. Farm data were collected from a survey conducted on farms and the Fertilizer Use Recommendation Project (FURP) data was used as experimental data. The study indicated that greater maize yield response to nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) fertilizers was achieved under experimental conditions than under farm conditions. Consequently, the economically optimal fertilizer rates obtained from the experimental response were much higher than those obtained under farm conditions. Recommendations obtained under farm response were 13.1 kg/ha of Nitrogen and 14.97 kg/ha of phosphorus nutrient, and those from experimental response were 14.04 kg/ha Nand 23.04 kg/ha P for Kiamokama region; 44.63 kg/ha Nand 66.7 kg/ha P for otamba region and 30.83 Kg/Ha Nand 48.43 Kg/Ha P for region around National Agricultural Research Station (NARS) in Kisii.