Abstract
Agrochemicals are used principally to control weeds and pests in agriculture. Wheat production in Kenya has not been sufficient despite concerted efforts by agrochemical companies to market agrochemicals to farmers. The study aimed at establishing the determinants of use of pre-emergence wheat herbicides among the wheat farmers in Kenya. The study was conducted in Uasin Gishu County. Stratified random sampling was used to sample 164 wheat farmers. Data collection was done using a well structured questionnaire administered to the wheat farmers. Logit regression technique was used to determine the association between determinants of use of pre-emergence wheat herbicides among the wheat farmers. The results show that education level, land tenure, average income, extension services, market information and credit access variables were statistically significant. The study recommended improvement of extension services to wheat farmers and increased accessibility of credit facilities by financial institutions at affordable prices. It is also necessary to have further research on how extension services can enhance wheat production. Keywords : Herbicides, Pesticides, Pre-emergence DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-6-12 Publication date :March 31 st 2019
Highlights
Agrochemicals, known as pesticides or crop protection chemicals, are chemicals manufactured from a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals and used to control pests, weeds, insects and fungi
It was observed that a farmer was more likely to use pre-emergence wheat herbicides if he / she had formal education than if he / she did not have formal education
The null hypothesis that social factors had no effect on the use of pre-emergence wheat herbicides in Uasin Gishu County was rejected
Summary
Agrochemicals, known as pesticides or crop protection chemicals, are chemicals manufactured from a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals and used to control pests, weeds, insects and fungi. Agrochemicals are used principally to control weeds and pests in agriculture The market for this major application was valued, at the end-user level, at around US$ 31.25 billion in 1998 (Bahadur, 2004). Various constraints have contributed to the failure to meet domestic demand and these include erratic and unpredictable climatic conditions, lack of credit among farmers, failure to adopt proper and improved technologies in production as well as failure to invest in agrochemicals which are essential in wheat production. The main focus was on the use of pre-emergence wheat herbicides, with the hope of cascading the findings for use in the other sectors of wheat agrochemicals This is because wheat, being the second most important cereal grain in Kenya after maize, requires a lot of attention. Over the years not been sufficient as Kenya continues to rely on wheat imports to meet domestic demand for wheat and wheat products
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