Contribution of Indigenous Innovations for Mitigating Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith) among Maize Farmers for Improved Food Security

Abstract

Fall armyworm (FAW) is a new invasive pest that causes economic damage to a wide variety of crops. This pest is estimated to reduce maize yields by about 60%. FAW could cause crop losses of up to US$13 billion annually across sub-Saharan Africa, threatening the livelihoods of millions of resource-poor farmers worldwide. Governments have warned against the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides that could undermine pest control strategies for smallholder farmers who rely heavily on natural enemies. Since the invasion of this pest in Kenya, there have been limited studies conducted on indigenous innovations to tackle the challenges of FAW infestation. There has also been limited knowledge of the effects of the indigenous innovations adopted by smallholder farmers on crop production. A total of 150 farmers from Busia, Siaya, and Vihiga counties were purposely sampled and appropriately informed about the indigenous innovations they developed to address and leverage FAW challenges with the help of well-structured questionnaires. The impact of indigenous innovations on crop production were evaluated. Analysis of quantitative data was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 to facilitate descriptive and inferential analysis of the study variables and by carrying out the Binomial Logistic regression analysis for objectives i, ii, iii and iv, respectively. Results were presented as descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, respectively. The dependent variable was the FAW pest awareness, while the independent variables were age, gender, education level, farm size, employment status and income, respectively.