Farmer survey in the hinterland of Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo) on rodent crop damage and rodent control techniques used

Abstract

We conducted a survey on rodent crop damage among farmers in the hinterland of Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo). We studied the amount of crop damage, the rodent groups causing crop damage, the growth stages affected and the control techniques used. We conducted this survey in three municipalities using a standard questionnaire form translated into local languages, between November 2005 and June 2006 and during July 2007. We used the Quotas method and interviewed 70 households per municipality. Farmers indicated rodent groups implicated in crop damage on color photographs. Two types of survey techniques were used: individual and focus-group surveys. The sugar cane rat, Thryonomys sp. and Lemniscomys striatus caused most damage to crops, but inside granaries, Rattus rattus was the primary pest species eating stored food supplies and causing damage to stored goods. Cassava and maize were the most cultivated crops, followed by rice. Maize and rice are the most vulnerable during the heading stage. The most usable part of cassava (tubers) was attacked less often. Farmers mostly applied traditional trapping techniques, using local snap traps to decrease rodent abundance and sometimes used a labor-intensive trap-barrier system to trap Thryonomys . Inside buildings (granaries), farmers used chemical control methods.