Drivers of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers in Bure District, Ethiopia

Ethiopia has developed several agricultural innovations to enhance soil fertility and increase crop yields, including integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices. However, the adoption of these practices remains low. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to identify the key factors influencing the adoption of ISFM practices in Bure district of Illubabor zone, southwest Ethiopia. A cross‐sectional survey design was used to collect data from 546 randomly selected household heads, including 291 adopters and 255 non‐adopters. Three focus group discussions and 28 key informant interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t ‐tests, and a binary logistic regression model. The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that family size, education level, farming experience, livestock ownership, extension contact, access to credit, and training had a positive and significant ( p < 0.05) effect on the adoption of ISFM. In contrast, age, distance to farmland, and land slope negatively affected the adoption of ISFM practices. Furthermore, the adoption of ISFM was not significantly influenced by respondents’ sex, household income, land size, and distance to the market. Based on these findings, the study suggests that the district agricultural office and extension workers should consider these key factors to improve the adoption of ISFM practices among farmers in the study area.