Abstract
Rodent pests are especially problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage associated with their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and high reproductive rates. To quantify rodent pest impacts and identify trends in rodent pest research impacting on small-holder agriculture in the Afro-Malagasy region we did a systematic review of research outputs from 1910 to 2015, by developing an a priori defined set of criteria to allow for replication of the review process. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We reviewed 162 publications, and while rodent pest research was spatially distributed across Africa (32 countries, including Madagascar), there was a disparity in number of studies per country with research biased towards four countries (Tanzania [25%], Nigeria [9%], Ethiopia [9%], Kenya [8%]) accounting for 51% of all rodent pest research in the Afro-Malagasy region. There was a disparity in the research themes addressed by Tanzanian publications compared to publications from the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region where research in Tanzania had a much more applied focus (50%) compared to a more basic research approach (92%) in the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region. We found that pest rodents have a significant negative effect on the Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming communities. Crop losses varied between cropping stages, storage and crops and the highest losses occurred during early cropping stages (46% median loss during seedling stage) and the mature stage (15% median loss). There was a scarcity of studies investigating the effectiveness of various management actions on rodent pest damage and population abundance. Our analysis highlights that there are inadequate empirical studies focused on developing sustainable control methods for rodent pests and rodent pests in the Africa-Malagasy context is generally ignored as a research topic.
Highlights
World hunger and food insecurity are principally linked to poverty [1, 2]
Whilst rodent pest research has been conducted across much of the African continent (32 out of 48, countries registered at least one relevant study), there was a disparity in the number of studies per country (χ218 = 205.72, p < 0.0001; Fig 3)
The high research intensity in Tanzania is due to the Pest Management Centre at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, with a strong focus on rodent pests in agricultural systems
Summary
The majority of the rural poor are dependent on farming where 90% of farm sizes are less than two hectares [3]. Up to 80% of undernourished people live in countries where the majority of farming occurs under such small-holder farming practices [4]. While rural small-holder farmers face several social and environmental problems in food production [6], agricultural pests are a major factor in yield gaps pre-harvest and losses post-harvest [7, 8]. Rodent pests are problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage [9, 10], because of their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and their high reproductive output [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
