that fertilizer applications are uneconomical since market conditions are crop and place dependent. This in turn has consequences for incomes, food security and the sustainability of soils.

The results suggest that households with greater wealth, human capital and greater authority can apply those assets to overcome hurdles that stand in the way of making greater use of fertilizers. The finding offers some encouragement, but it also implies a self-enforcing link between low agricultural productivity and poverty, since low-asset households are less able to compensate for weaknesses in Ethiopian fertilizer markets. The study suggests that the provision of extension services can be effective in helping households participate in fertilizer markets and that lowering transport costs can improve the intensity of fertilizer use in Ethiopia by lowering the cost of fertilizer and boosting the value of outputs at the farmgate.

# **References**

Abuja Declaration (2006): Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution, issued at the Africa Fertilizer Summit: African Union Special Summit of the Heads of State and Government. Abuja, Nigeria, 13 June 2006.

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