Intensity of adoption of integrated pest management practices in Rwanda: A fractional logit approach

Vincent Gadamba Misango,Jonathan Makau Nzuma,Patrick Irungu,Menale Kassie

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08735

Vincent Gadamba Misango, Jonathan Makau Nzuma + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08735

Copy DOI

Abstract

The push-pull technology (PPT) is considered as an alternative integrated pest management strategy for the control of fall armyworm and stemborer, among smallholder maize farmers in sub-Sahara African to conventional pesticides. However, the extent of PPT use in Rwanda where the technology was introduced in 2017 remains largely unexplored. This paper employed a fractional logit model to assess the factors influencing the intensity of adoption of PPT among smallholder maize farmers in Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts of Rwanda using survey data obtained from 194 PPT adopter households selected using a cluster sampling technique. While only 5 percent of smallholder farmers in Rwanda have adopted PPT as an integrated pest management strategy, on the average, these farmers cultivated 26 percent of their maize plots to the technology. Our results show that the perceived benefits of PPT, its perceived effectiveness in pest control, group membership, livestock ownership, and gender of the farmer had significant effects on the intensity of adoption of the PPT in Rwanda. These findings give compelling evidence to recommend that development initiatives should give emphasis on creating awareness on the perceived benefits of PPT adoption using group approaches that are gender disaggregated.

Highlights

Low agricultural productivity emanating from both biotic and abiotic constraints remains a key challenge for smallholder rural farmers in the sub-Sahara African (SSA) (Murage et al, 2015a; Midega et al, 2015)
The adopter households' allocated approximately 1.035 acres (35 percent) of their farms to maize production, out of which 0.269 acres was under push-pull technology (PPT) to yield an intensity of adoption of 0.26
This study evaluates the factors influencing the intensity of adoption of PPT among smallholder maize farmers in Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts of Rwanda

Summary

Introduction

Low agricultural productivity emanating from both biotic and abiotic constraints remains a key challenge for smallholder rural farmers in the sub-Sahara African (SSA) (Murage et al, 2015a; Midega et al, 2015). Abiotic constraints such as droughts, unpredictable weather patterns, climate change and limited access to quality inputs (seeds, fertilizer and chemicals) have continuously limited agricultural productivity in the region (AGRA, 2014). The larvae of the stemborer moth burrows in the maize stem as they grow, competing with the plant for the food that is necessary to produce quality grain (Kumela et al, 2019)

Methods

Results

Conclusion