Factors influencing uptake of soil fertility management strategies among smallholder farmers in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana

Abstract

Sustaining the productive capacity of the farmlands in the forest/savannah transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana requires research into sustainable alternative options to the current bush fallowing system which is being threatened by population-induced pressure on land. In order to develop new systems, we carried out a study in the forest savannah transitional agro-ecological zone to determine existing soil fertility management strategies being used by farmers, their sources and factors influencing their use. Sources of knowledge of farmers’ soil fertility management strategies were identified to include: relatives/friends, extension/research, and self/joint experimentation. Relatives/friends and self/joint experimentation were identified as the major sources of knowledge for most of the soil fertility management strategies being used by farmers. The extent of use of a particular strategy did not depend on the source of knowledge alone but also on socio-economic factors such as accessibility to resources including land, labour, cash and credit as well as food security and risks of crop failure. The study suggests that in developing technology for the smallholder farming systems, there is the need to understand the socio-economic factors that shape the complex smallholder environment so that this can be factored into the technology development process.