DETERMINANTS OF MANURE USE BY SMALL-SCALE CROP FARMERS IN THE KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE: A LOGIT ANALYSIS

This study employed the logit model to examine factors that influence the use of cattle and chicken manure for managing soil fertility by surveying a random sample of 224 farm households in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. The majority (87%) of the respondents were farming on communal land with an average farm size of 2.9 hectares. Sixty-three % of the farmers in the sample used manure to manage soil fertility in their fields. Cattle manure was used by 54% while chicken manure was used by 39% of the sample. Manure was readily available to 73% of the respondent farmers. The common method of applying manure was by a spreader. Some suggestions are made on strategies that could improve the efficiency of utilization of manure for soil fertility management in this agro ecosystem