Determinants of vegetable growers’ knowledge and willingness to adopt botanical pesticides

Abstract

Bangladeshi vegetable growers rely heavily on chemical pesticides to manage pests. Botanical pesticides are often promoted as an environmentally friendly way to control pests that can help to mitigate the harmful effects of chemical pesticides. This study analyzed vegetable growers’ knowledge and willingness to adopt botanical pesticides. The data was collected from 202 vegetable farmers using face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics and a set of econometric models were used to analyze the data. Only 20% of the farmers had good knowledge of botanical pesticides. About 43% of the farmers were willing to adopt botanical pesticides. Education, training, extension contact, and cosmopolite behavior (communication with other people) significantly enhanced the knowledge of the vegetable growers. With membership in IPM club and extension contacts, the odds of willingness to adopt increased by a factor of 7.60 and 4.23, respectively. The use of modern information and communication technology can assist the adoption of botanical pesticides by increasing farmers’ knowledge. Providing farmers with training on the easy preparation of homemade botanical pesticides can also aid in their widespread adoption.