Effects of inorganic fertilizer on agricultural productivity in Ganta Afeshum woreda, Tigray region, Ethiopia

A study was conducted to assess the practice, causes and effects of inorganic fertilizer on agricultural productivity in Ganta Afeshum woreda. The study area was selected, simple random sampling and the development agent respondents were selected in terms of purposive sampling methods of the 134 household respondents. The data collected was used, administering written questionnaires, interviews and direct observation techniques, and calculated mean, SD, tabular, percentages, one sample t-test, chi-square, correlation and regression methods were used for analyzing the data. Based on the finding the research shows a strong positive correlation between land holding in hectares and household monthly income, which was statistically significant, and the variance of inorganic fertilizer applied in farmland area was influenced by household monthly income in Birr. The study shows that there is a difference between the users and non-users of inorganic fertilizer on agricultural productivity in the study area. The final output of the study shows that the effect of inorganic fertilizer on the productivity of irrigated farmland was both positive effects such as increment of productivity, increment of soil fertility, fulfilment food consumption and increment of income earnings and negative effects such as adding acidity, adding salinity and changing the physical and biological properties of soil.