CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the findings in relation to the objectives set by the researcher.

5.2 Bio Data

5.2.1 Age of the respondents

Figure 4.1 gives the age distribution of the respondents. Majority (45.5%) of the respondents were adults of 41-50 years as opposed to other categories.  This was because adult raised income from Irish potato production to support their children’s basic needs and family up keep.

5.2.2 Gender of the Respondents

Figure 4.2 indicates that 72.7% were males and 27.3% were females. The high percentage of male respondents reflects the general pattern of Irish potato production in Kabale District. Males dominated the production process since they raised income for sustaining their families. A

5.2.3 Level of education of respondents

Figure 4.4 revealed that 280 (77.1%) of respondents had primary education, 67 (18.5%) of respondents had secondary education and 16 (4.4%) of respondents had tertiary education. The implication is that most Irish potato farmers in Kabale District  had low level of education as most of them did not go beyond primary education. Majority of the respondents attained primary level of education because of universal primary education (UPE) provided by government and could not continue to higher levels of education because of financial constraints hence dropped out. While the evidence for links between basic education, economic development, and poverty alleviation is abundant, and funding agencies are investing significantly in basic education, it remains more difficult to provide good-quality basic education to children in rural areas than to those in urban areas. It is not enough to enroll children in schools. Drop-out rates are high in many low-income countries, reflecting families’ awareness that they get little return on their own investment. If the families of those children see no value in the time and other costs spent on schooling, they are likely to withdraw them from school. Likewise, the social rate of return is low if those who attend school do not learn much (Hanushek, 1995)

5.2.4 Marital status of the respondents

Figure 4.3 showed that 279 (76.9%) of respondents were married, 50 (13.5%) of respondents were single while 34 (9.4%) of respondents were widowed. The majority of the respondents being married was attributed to need to support each other in terms of labour and upbringing of children.

5.3 Objectives of the study

5.3.1 Findings about Extent of Inorganic Fertilizer use in Irish Potato Production in Kabale District

The findings of the study revealed that the probability values for the quantity of inorganic fertilizer application and times of inorganic fertilizer usage are significant at 0.05 level of significance, implying that there is a mean difference between these two study variables by men and women

Findings revealed that more males in the age of 41-50 years used more inorganic fertilizers compared to their female counterparts. The reason for this gender and age variability in inorganic fertilizer use was attributed ability of men to understand the relevance of using inorganic in increasing the yields of Irish potatoes.

In terms of inorganic fertilizer use 55.1% knew how to apply inorganic fertilizers; close to 66% of the respondent reported to have had technical challenges in inorganic fertilizer use. This was because Government did little to improve inorganic fertilizer accessibility and technical training in the use of fertilizers. This was evidenced by 73.8% of respondents affirming that the government did not play a big role in extending inorganic fertilizers.  This finding agrees with (Hausman, 2008)   who reported that Government interventions are not costless, and there are many cases where it is better to live with market failures than to call on government to fix the problem. The challenge therefore lies in formulating the right kind of government interventions that can provide a correctional response in the input markets.

Also education level of the respondent influenced use and application of inorganic fertilizers. Farmers that attained at least formal education used fertilizer in production compared to the ones that didn’t acquire any formal education. This was because formal education improved farmer’s knowledge and understanding of inorganic fertilizer relevance in increasing Irish potato yields. This compares very well with a report by Kelly et al. (2001) that low level of knowledge as a result of inadequate education negatively effects the use of inorganic fertilizers in production.

Farmers’ Knowledge of inorganic Fertilizer use in Irish Potato Production in Kabale District

Findings in Table 4.21 showed that overall, nearly half of the respondents 40.31% had a moderate level of knowledge, 39.53% had a high level of knowledge and 20.16% had a low level of knowledge. More than half the farmers of large farms (57.01%) had a high level of knowledge about inorganic fertilizer use in Irish potato production. The high level of knowledge among the large farmers is because they are profit oriented so try to maximize output through using the available technological innovations like application of inorganic fertilizer that boosts Irish potato productivity. This agree with Earlier, Mundi and Ezenwa, (2006) reported that for a farmer to adopt and use inorganic fertilizer, she/he must be technically and socially sound. This agrees with the finding of this study. Accordingly, Asiabaka, Morse and Kenyon (2001) noted that, if Irish potato farmers are to adopt a new technology like inorganic fertilizers, then they have to understand well the technology. A similar study by in Nigeria showed that farmer’s knowledge and skills determines the use of new innovations (Okoedo-Okojie and Aphunu, 2011)

The study further looked at the relationship between farmers’ knowledge (mode of application of inorganic fertilizers, effectiveness of inorganic fertilizer application, amount of inorganic fertilizer application and Irish potato yield) and the findings were as follows;

Table 4.25 shows that there is a positive relationship between mode of application of inorganic fertilizers and Irish potato yield (r=.868**, p-value<0.01).

From the correlation in a Table 4.20 showed that, there is a positive relationship between effectiveness of application of inorganic fertilizers and Irish potato yield (r=.684**, p-value<0.01)

From the correlation in Table 4.20 showed that, there is a positive relationship between amount of inorganic fertilizers and Irish potato yield. (r=.890**, p-value<0.01). The study thus concludes that there is a significant positive relationship between farmers’ knowledge of inorganic fertilizer use and Irish potato production.

Furthermore factor analysis was done with the main objective of finding out the underlying common factors influencing farmers’ knowledge of inorganic fertilizer application in this study. The Principal component factoring method with variance rotation was used for factor extraction. Using the factor analysis it was found out that the study variables have developed a factor solution. This factor model has a strong statistical support and the Kaiser- Maya-Olkin (KMO) test of sampling adequacy concurs that the sample taken to process the factor analysis is statistically sufficient.

Data analysis and interpretation of the questionnaire responses from the farmers and key informants in Kabale District revealed the existence of a well-established/defined structure between all the study variables.

Influence of farmers’ attitudes towards inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production

The results of these study show that there was a significant positive (r=0.417, p<0.05) relationship between farmers’ attitudes and inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production. In fact, farmers’ attitude was moderately positive (aggregate mean=3.25). Accordingly, regression analysis further showed that farmers’ attitudes significantly affects inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production in Kabale District (r = .241).  The moderate attitude was because of average formal (primary school) education that the majority of the respondents had attained.). Also according to Shook & Bratianu (2010) state that one forms one’s attitude based on one’s beliefs in the possible outcomes. The more favorable the possibility is, the stronger the intention to do the behavior will be, and vice versa: the less favorable the outcome possibility is, the weaker the intention to do the behavior will be.

Influence of socio-economic factors on the use of Inorganic fertilizer for Irish Potato Production

Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the effect of selected socioeconomic variables on inorganic fertilizer usage in Irish production. Out of the four socio-economic variables considered as independent variables, Price of inorganic fertilizers, price perception and then accessibility to inorganic fertilizers were found to positively influence the farmer’s use of inorganic fertilizers in the study area. However the estimated co-efficient of price of inorganic fertilizers was negatively correlated with the usage of inorganic fertilizers by farmers. The negative relationship implies that an increase in the price of inorganic fertilizers will decrease farmers’ usage of the fertilizer and ultimately impact on the production of Irish potatoes in Kabale District . This agree with Akpan et al. (2012) identified education, extension services, rainfall pattern and soil textures as important determinants of fertilizer demand decision in Kenya. Olayide et al. (2009) in Nigeria, established that the intensity of fertilizer use increases with the family labour and physical access to fertilizer. Also in Nigeria, Amanze et al. (2010) proved that output of crop, level of education, farm size and price of fertilizers were important factors influencing farmers’ use of fertilizer in arable crop production

The output of the regression analysis also showed an R² of 0.85. This implies that about 85% of the variation in the inorganic fertilizer usage by respondents was accounted for by joint actions of the four independent variables. The high value of R² observed is an indication that the explanatory variables were sufficient to explain the variations in fertilizer use in Irish potato production, while the remaining 15% was as a result of non-inclusion of some other explanatory variables, errors in estimation, as well as other factors outside the study. This implies that the indicators considered were relevant socio-economic variables that influenced inorganic fertilizer use in the area. The overall result was found to be statistically significant, as F-static value of 12.356 was significant at a 5% level of significance.

CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the conclusions and recommendations based on the objectives of the study. Suggested areas of further research are also identified.

6.2 Summary of findings

The first research question sought to find out the extent of inorganic fertilizer used among Irish potato farmers in Kabale District. The findings revealed that farmers in Kabale District use low inorganic fertilizer application rates with majority using average of 50kg/ha. The study found NPK being the commonly used fertilizer and A number of the respondents had technical issues related the use of inorganic fertilizer.

The second research question sought to find out   farmers’ knowledge of inorganic fertilizers used for Irish potato production in Kabale District. The findings revealed that farmers 55% of the farmers knew how to apply inorganic fertilizers. However, close to 66% of the farmers had general technical challenges in fertilizer handling, use and storage.

The third research question sought to find out the farmers’ attitudes towards use of inorganic fertilizers. The results showed that farmers’ attitude was moderate towards the use of inorganic fertilizers in Irish potato production. Farmers perceived fertilizers to improve the yields of Irish potatoes.

The fourth research question sought to find out socio-economic factors influencing farmers’ attitudes towards the use of inorganic fertilizer in Irish potato production. The results showed that three quarters of the respondents reported high prices and inaccessibility of inorganic fertilizers as major factors affecting their ability to utilize fertilizers.

6.3 Conclusions

Basing on the study findings it was concluded that:

• Regarding the extent of Inorganic Fertilizer Usage among Irish Potato Farmers in Kabale District , results showed that 68% of respondents used inorganic before planting and 32% of respondents use inorganic fertilizer during planting. This implies that most of Irish potato farmers in Kabale District use inorganic fertilizer before and during planting.
• The findings also showed that respondents were aware of the benefits for applying inorganic fertilizer with 77% of respondents saying the returns are high and 22.9%) of respondents declared that the level of benefit for applying inorganic fertilizer is very high.
• On farmers’ Knowledge of inorganic Fertilizer use in Irish Potato Production in Kabale District, findings showed that overall, nearly half of the respondents 40.31% had a moderate level of knowledge, 39.53% had a high level of knowledge and 20.16% had a low level of knowledge.
• Farmers with larger farms were more knowledgeable about inorganic fertilizer usage than farmers in smaller farms. Slightly more than half the farmers of large farms (57.01%) had a high level of knowledge about inorganic fertilizer use in Irish potato production, as did half of the farmers of medium-sized farms (50%) and nearly half the farmers of marginal farms (39.62%) and about half of the farmers of small farms (53.57%) had a moderate level of knowledge about inorganic fertilizer usage
• With regard to the influence of farmers’ attitudes towards inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production the study findings show that farmers’ attitude were generally moderately positive (aggregate mean=3.25). Results showed that farmers’ attitudes significantly affected inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production in Kabale District (r = .241). This means that farmers’ attitude is a significant determinant of inorganic fertilizer use for Irish potato production in KabaleDistrict.
• In terms of the influence of socio-economic factors on the use of Inorganic fertilizer for Irish Potato Production in KabaleDistrict, the study findings showed that out of the four socio-economic variables considered as independent variables, three were found to positively influence the farmer’s use of inorganic fertilizers in the study area and these were: Rating of Price of inorganic fertilizers X1; price perception X3; and, then accessibility to inorganic fertilizers, X4.

6.4 Recommendations

Basing on the above conclusions from the study, the following recommendations were suggested for improving knowledge, attitudes and usage of inorganic fertilizers by Irish potato farmers in Kabale District and elsewhere in Uganda:

To extension practitioners

• Extension workers should train and sensitize households on the usage, applicability, effectiveness, timing and the amount of inorganic fertilizer use in especially Irish potato production. Farmers need to adequately and continuously be trained and equipped on practices and application of inorganic fertilizers like NPK, Urea, DAP and others
• Ensure that farmers are given frequent flow of information through radios and farmer groups as well as reminding farmers on things like quantity and quality of inorganic fertilizer use, mode of inorganic fertilizer application per season and also update their knowledge. This would ensure that farmers get to acknowledge the benefits and importance in the use of inorganic fertilizers in Irish Potato Production.
• It is recommended that farmers should be given skill-based training on the principles of inorganic fertilizer use; be conveyed the right information from other developed countries about methods of application of inorganic fertilizer; assisted in building groups for cooperation and sharing knowledge; be shown the comparable benefits from reducing undesirable attitudes; and be shown that good prices are a sound outcome from the good practice of inorganic fertilizer application

To government policy makers

The study found out that there was a slightly lower percentage of other farmers using and applying inorganic fertilizers compared the Irish Potato Producers. According to farmers and stakeholders, there is less government involvement providing extension services regarding inorganic fertilizers to the farmers. Based on this finding, the researcher recommends the following among others that:

• Government agencies like extension should step up to their responsibilities in ensuring effective and practical information dissemination and delivery to end users.
• Uganda government should support an effective marketing and distribution system to connect inorganic farmers and check the activities of middlemen, to enable the farmers, still remain in agricultural production.
• Setting up smallholder credit scheme, especially for purchase of farm technologies, could be an important step towards accelerating farm technology adoption such as inorganic fertilizer. Because the smallholders may not be able to acquire credit from the mainstream financial sector due to the risky nature of their business, the government could step in either as a guarantor or as a direct provider of the funds through, say microfinance institutions. An alternative approach could be to mobilize the smallholders to form organizations through which to pool resources and obtain additional funding from either the government or financial institutions. Whichever approach is chosen, the funds should be of low interest rates and easily accessible.
• Finally, government should ensure sustained access to education, support the policy on agricultural inputs, and accessibility to credit facilities from financial institutions. The drive to improve inorganic fertilizer market performance in Uganda requires a holistic approach that will strengthen both the private and public sectors. The private sector in Uganda has proven itself versatile, but it also is quite sensitive to public sector action. To increase efficiency in procurement and distribution of fertilizer, the government should increase expenditure on infrastructure development, agricultural research, quality control, agricultural extension services, and the promotion of regional trade.

To Researchers

Despite lots of written researches about concept of inorganic fertilizer application, there is still need to for further research to:

• Develop a well-defined concept about it which should demonstrate the core elements of inorganic fertilizer application in agricultural development highlighting the objective /purpose of application, the stages of application, the intensity of application and the modes of application.
• Evaluate whether a subsidy on inorganic fertilizer would significantly increase farmers’ use of fertilizer, while at the same time strengthening private agricultural input market actors. On the market side, there should be a deliberate drive to improve information flow between suppliers, government, and the final consumers.

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