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Abstract
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.