Farmers’ Perceptions and Preferences on Pesticide Use in the Management of Fall Armyworm in Rwanda

Abstract

The fall armyworm (FAW) is one of the most severe pests faced by maize growers in Rwanda. Due to FAW outbreak that affected maize fields in all districts of the country, farmers have sprayed more than eight types of pesticides to control the pest, since its first detection in February 2017. The objective of this study was to evaluate farmers’ perceptions and their preference on pesticides to use in the FAW management in Rwanda. The findings show that the status of maize fields was good (for 51.6% of interviewed farmers) after pesticide application. Among the pesticides used, Rocket 44 EC was the most preferred (52.4%) and was considered stronger than other pesticides (56.8%). According to respondents’ views, the reason behind the first choice of Rocket 44 EC was its high effectiveness, as compared with other insecticides. However, some farmers preferred to use Cypermethrin (7.2%). Regarding the effectiveness of Pyrethrum 5 EW, 5.6% of farmers found it to be ‘excellent’, while 30.8% found its effectiveness to be ‘poor’. Therefore, only 22.4% of interviewed farmers ‘highly recommended’ pyrethrum, while 31.2% of them would ‘recommend’ another pesticide to other farmers. According to the findings, FAW was reduced in numbers due to pesticide application, and most of the interviewed farmers considered Rocket 44 EC as their first choice. The results of this study will give effective guidance on the management of FAW in future agricultural seasons.