Socioeconomic determinants of maize production among north western Ethiopia's small-scale farmers: Evidence from three agro-ecology zones

Knowing the primary maize production constraints that could lead to poor productivity which in turn lower farm income is essential to close the gap between desire and actual yield. As a result, this survey was conducted to assess the constraints on maize production across West Gojjam Zone in three districts: Jabi Tehnan, Bahir Dar Zuriya, and Mecha. Based on maize production potential, coverage, and the importance of maize in the livelihood of farmers in the study area, 10 km by 10 km X and Y geographical coordinate points as the main grid, and a quadrangle 1 km by 1km square grid was generated. Data were gathered from primary and secondary sources. We used both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to gather primary data. A structured questionnaire was administered to 252 randomly selected sample farmers and their farms as part of the qualitative data collection. According to the findings, farmers in all three districts were dominantly married, of working age and with extensive farming experience. The smallest and most fragmented production land was located away from the house. The most common fertilizers were urea, DAP and NPS, from which a large proportion of the farmers used urea more than others and there was difficulty in getting fertilizers from regular sources and at the right time at all of the research sites. The majority of farmers in the research area utilized local seeds than improved seeds. Weed and insect pest attack in the maize field were very low. Furthermore, the largest portion of farmers had a very small production area which they plowed repeatedly. As a result of this study, it is possible to conclude that socioeconomic, fertilizer, seed and land preparation factors impact farmers in all three maize production systems. In this regard, it is suggested that more attention should be paid to these yield-limiting factors. Key words: Maize production, input, farming experience, Zea mays, land distributions, productivity, Ethiopia