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Assessment of pest problems and farmers perception on the use of botanical pesticides in Ekiti State, Nigeria

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Author Affiliations

  • 1Dept. of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of The Free State, Phuthaditjhaba, Republic of South Africa
  • 2Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Services, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
  • 3Dept. of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of The Free State, Phuthaditjhaba, Republic of South Africa

Res. J. Agriculture & Forestry Sci., Volume 9, Issue (2), Pages 12-17, April,8 (2021)

Abstract

The careless and indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides with its attendant side effects on humans and the ecosystem have led to co-operative research efforts to curtail the menace. These efforts have produced alternative approaches among which are the use of botanical pesticides for management of pests. Botanically derived pesticides are natural, and contain bioactive compounds showing toxicity against pests ravaging crops. This study was carried out to assess pest problems and also to investigate the perceptions of farmers in Ekiti State towards the use of botanical pesticides. Four towns were purposively selected from each of the three ADP zones and ten (10) respondents selected in each town to give 120 respondents. Questionnaires and interview schedules were conducted with the respondents. The major threats to agricultural productivity in Ekiti State are complex problems of interactions between different categories of pests including insects, pathogens, and weeds. Majority of the respondents (41.7%) make use of only synthetic pesticides as the main pest control option while 25.8% of the respondents combine both synthetic and botanicals for pest control. The Likert scale revealed that with the high literacy exposure of the respondents on the hazardous potentials of the chemicals, it was widely utilized for the control of pests on their farms. The drudgery involved in the preparation of the botanicals considering the huge quantities required, coverage on farmers fields, time factor and labour needed in its preparation may be responsible for the low adoption. We recommend the need for agricultural policies that would promote the commercial production of botanical pesticides and make incentives available to farmers and local institutions. This would in return improve food security and promote environmental safety.

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