Evaluating Farmers’ Knowledge and Awareness of Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Assessment of the IPM Collaborative Research Support Project in Uganda

Abstract

The IPM CRSP (Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program) has been applying a farmer participatory IPM strategy at on-farm research sites in Eastern Uganda since 1995. Comparison groups composed of project participants and nonparticipants were used to evaluate the impact of project activities on IPM knowledge and awareness change among two hundred small scale farmers. The evaluation instrument used a summated ratings scale consisting of four attributes to measure farmers’ knowledge of IPM, and crop specific indices to measure pest management. The results demonstrate that more active participation increases knowledge of IPM pest management knowledge, providing preliminary support for the project’s participatory research and extension approach. However, project beneficiaries were relatively few and were slightly more socioeconomically advantaged. Recommendations for increasing the number of farmer participants and improving the evaluation process are made.