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Knowledge and perception of Ghanaian cocoa farmers on mirid control and their willingness to use forecasting systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2016

Godfred Kweku Awudzi ,
Mercy Asamoah ,
Frank Owusu-Ansah ,
Paul Hadley ,
Paul Edwin Hatcher  and
Andrew James Daymond
Godfred Kweku Awudzi*
Affiliation:
Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Box 8, New Tafo-Akim, Ghana School of Agriculture Policy and Development, University of Reading, Whiteknights, ReadingRG6 6AR, UK
Mercy Asamoah
Affiliation:
Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Box 8, New Tafo-Akim, Ghana
Frank Owusu-Ansah
Affiliation:
Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Box 8, New Tafo-Akim, Ghana
Paul Hadley
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture Policy and Development, University of Reading, Whiteknights, ReadingRG6 6AR, UK
Paul Edwin Hatcher
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, ReadingRG6 6AS, UK
Andrew James Daymond
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture Policy and Development, University of Reading, Whiteknights, ReadingRG6 6AR, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
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Abstract

Annual losses of cocoa in Ghana from mirids are significant; therefore, accurate timing of insecticide application is critical to enhance yields. However, cocoa farmers often lack information on the expected mirid population for each season to enable them to optimize pesticide use. This study assessed farmers' knowledge and perceptions of mirid control and their willingness to use forecasting systems informing them of the expected mirid peaks and the time of pesticide application. A total of 280 farmers were interviewed in the Eastern and Ashanti regions of Ghana with a structured open- and closed-ended questionnaire. Most farmers (87%) considered mirids the most important insect pest on cocoa, with 47% of them attributing 30–40% of annual crop losses to mirid damage. There was a wide variation in the timing of insecticide application as a result of farmers using different sources of information to guide the start of application. The majority of farmers (56%) did not have access to information about the type, frequency and timing of insecticide use. However, respondents who were members of farmer groups had better access to such information. Extension officers were the preferred channel for information transfer to farmers, with 72% of farmers preferring them to other available methods of communication. Almost all the respondents (99%) saw the need for a comprehensive forecasting system to help farmers manage cocoa mirids. The importance of the accurate timing of mirid control based on forecasted information to farmer groups and extension officers is discussed.

Keywords

extensionquestionnairefarmer groupsinsecticidesmiridcocoaGhana
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 22 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2016 

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