Farmers’ perceptions of integrated pest management (IPM) and determinants of adoption in vegetable production in Bangladesh

Abstract

Identifying determinants of integrated pest management (IPM) adoption is crucial for promoting the use of more ecologically benign pest control tactics in the agricultural sector. The present study examined farmers’ perception of IPM and determinants of IPM adoption in vegetables production in Bangladesh. A total of 350 vegetable farmers were surveyed. Approximately one-third of the farmers agreed that the implementation of IPM is beneficial for farmers’ health. Overall knowledge regarding various IPM practices was low. The adoption of IPM was positively associated with farmers’ education, spouses’ education, large farm size, mass media coverage, and high perception of pesticide applications cost. Marginal effect analysis showed that mass media coverage can increase the likelihood of being in medium and high adopter group by 9.2 and 3%, respectively. Increased investment in extension services is recommended to increase awareness and adoption of IPM. Moreover, modifying the current extension approach by targeting not just the primary farmers, but also members of their families can help adoption of IPM.