Pest Management Practices Prescribed by Frontline Extension Workers in the Smallholder Agricultural Subsector of Kenya

Ochilo, Willis; Otipa, M.; Oronje, MaryLucy; Chege, Florence; Lingeera, Eunice; Lusenaka, Evelyn; Okonjo, Edward O

doi:10.1093/jipm/pmy009

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, lack of awareness on and/or unavailability of other control measures are the likely reason for the sole reliance by farmers on synthetic insecticides. Similar results have been reported in many developing countries where growing dependence on synthetic insecticides/non-IPM for the control of crop pests is alarming (Khan et al, 2015;Kumela et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2018, Ochilo et al, 2018Bonaventure et al, 2018). Farmer's reliance on intensive pesticide application was also common for other crops such as cotton, mango, maize, tomato, eggplants, and cabbages and other vegetables in various countries (Munyuli, 2016;Akotsen-Mensah et al, 2017, Rumbidzai et al, 2017Kumela et al, 2018).…”

Section: Insectsupporting

confidence: 68%

Farmers Status, Knowledge & Management Practices on Major Chickpea Insect Pests in Some Selected Zones of Ethiopia

Fite¹,

Tefera²,

Negeri³

et al. 2018

JAS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Survey were undertaken in five zones of Oromiya and Amhara regional states, Ethiopia from February to March 2018 to investigate farmers’ status, knowledge, major chickpea production constraints and insect pest management practices of chickpea. The survey involved 293 randomly taken farmers, who are interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Chickpea insect pests were considered as the main, among production constraints of chickpea by most of the interviewed farmers in Ethiopia. The majority of the farmers’ responded that Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the most prevalent insect pests of chickpea under field condition and Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in storage. Development Agents (DAs) were the top pest advisory service providers in the current study. A conventional insecticide (namely; Lambda-cyhalotrin and Dimethoate) for the control of H. armigera was the most commonly used pest management methods. Moreover, Two times insecticide applications per cropping season were the most frequent, deployed by most of the interviewed farmers followed by cultural pest management practices. Use of biological control and resistant chickpea varieties against major insect pests were low to negligible in the current survey study in the area. The majority of the farmers began control decision when H. armigera larval stages were smaller and they did not consider larval number per chickpea plant for the decision. These results will be used to formulate future effective and sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) in chickpea for Ethiopian farmers emphasizing ecologically and economically-based approaches.

show abstract

Section: Insectsupporting

confidence: 68%

Farmers Status, Knowledge & Management Practices on Major Chickpea Insect Pests in Some Selected Zones of Ethiopia

Fite¹,

Tefera²,

Negeri³

et al. 2018

JAS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Perhaps, this was necessitated by the fact; farmers often have limited or incomplete information about pest problems and possible management practices (Hashemi et al, 2009). Additionally, the findings may indicate that farmers in the study area place a great degree of trust in the agricultural extension system (Ochilo et al, 2018). This finding, however, contradicts previous studies that have questioned the technical competence of agricultural extension agents.…”

Section: Farmers' Practices On Management Of Arthropod Pests Of Tomatocontrasting

confidence: 56%

Ecological limits and management practices of major arthropod pests of tomato in Kenya

Ochilo¹,

Nyamasyo²,

Kilalo³

et al. 2019

J. Agric. Sci. Pract.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Kenya, tomato is cultivated for home consumption, as a cash crop, and a source of vitamins. In recent years, the growth rate of tomato production in the country has increased. Yields, however, continue to remain low due to a myriad of constraints, including incidences of arthropod pests. This paper catalogues arthropod pests of tomato in Kenya, establishes the pests' distribution patterns in relation to spatial and temporal dimensions and documents practices employed by farmers for their management. The study relies on plant health clinics as primary providers of data. Relationship between variables is proved using multinomial logistic regression. A diverse range of arthropod pests was found to hamper tomato production in Kenya. Tomato leaf miner, whiteflies, and spider mites emerged as the major threats to the sustainability of tomato production. Most of the arthropod pests reported were associated with upper and lower midland agro-ecological zones. The reverse, however, was true for upper highland zones. For the management of arthropod pests, essentially, the use of synthetic pesticides was the preferred practice by farmers. The study underscores the need to consider variations in arthropod pests' risk, both spatially and temporally when designing their management strategies. Also, alternative management procedures to the use of highly hazardous pesticides and better assessments of potential profit-loss to a smallholder for application and non-application of highly hazardous pesticides are required.

show abstract

“…Once a particular pesticide product has been determined safe and allowed onto the market, the decisions about costs-versusbenefits of particular pesticide applications, i.e., of how much pesticide is safe in a particular place, are allocated to people affiliated with nonstate institutions, for example, licensed agricultural extension professionals (in public and private employ), pesticide trainers, and agrochemical stores, among others. Kenyan agricultural extension officers, for example, promote some types of pesticides that other Kenyan agencies and the EU try to restrict, and they tend to prescribe synthetic pesticides over IPM and other types of nonchemical remedies for pests (Ochilo et al 2018). In the vegetable export sector, farmers employ people to keep records of pesticide applications and ensure traceability (of produce back to the farmer).…”

Section: State Bias Against Certain Types Of Social Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya

Krueger¹,

Mutyambai²

2020

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rampant increase and diversification of synthetic pesticides poses health, environmental, and livelihood risks especially to smallholder farmers who dominate agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Legal mechanisms for regulating pesticides, although important, have not fully addressed the dangers of ecological services disruptions due to accumulation of different pesticides over time. Legal mechanisms also are not well suited to developing countries because of weak monitoring and enforcement capacity. Understanding the role of other accountability mechanisms in farming, driven by norm leaders in the community, is thus of paramount importance. We investigated the effectiveness of a traditional accountability mechanism, i.e., local councils of elders known as the Njuri Ncheke, in controlling pesticide use in khat (Catha edulis). Khat samples were taken from traditional production systems in which these councils have influence and from commercial production systems lacking the councils' influence. The samples were analyzed for pesticide residues using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Individual farmer interviews were also carried out, inquiring about the influence of the Njuri Ncheke on the local community and on pesticide use in crop production. Our results show that a variety of agrochemical pesticides are being used by smallholder khat farmers and that local Njuri Ncheke councils have had success in limiting pesticide use, arguably more success than any government agency working to control pesticides on any local crop. These results show the potential of public accountability through traditional institutions like councils of elders and the role they can play in complimenting legal regulation mechanisms for successful pesticides management in agroecosytems.

show abstract

Pest Management Practices Prescribed by Frontline Extension Workers in the Smallholder Agricultural Subsector of Kenya

Cited by 19 publications

References 6 publications

Farmers Status, Knowledge & Management Practices on Major Chickpea Insect Pests in Some Selected Zones of Ethiopia

Farmers Status, Knowledge & Management Practices on Major Chickpea Insect Pests in Some Selected Zones of Ethiopia

Ecological limits and management practices of major arthropod pests of tomato in Kenya

Restricting pesticides on a traditional crop: the example of khat (Catha edulis) and the Njuri Ncheke of Meru, Kenya

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About