Yam pests in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana: A study of farmers\' indigenous technical knowledge and control practices

H Braimah,V M Anchirinah,J Adu-Mensah

doi:10.4314/gjas.v40i1.2152

Abstract

In Ghana, yam is a very important indigenous subsistence and cash crop that is now the most popular nontraditional export food crop, despite years of scientific neglect. There is a general paucity of technical information on yam production and marketing constraints, but especially so for pests and their management. To understand and document farmers\' needs as a basis for developing technologies to meet their requirements, this study surveyed yam farmers\' indigenous technical knowledge about pests on their crops and their pest management practices over the years in two districts in Brong Ahafo Region and one in Ashanti Region. Pre-tested questionnaire were administered to 30 randomly selected farmers in five villages in each district. The results showed that farmers\' knowledge about pests and the pest spectra were similar for the three districts. Farmers knew about insect pests on their yams, but were neither able to draw interrelationships between pest populations and damage nor the cultural practices that they follow or the ecological state of their farms. Termites (Amitermes spp., Macrotemes spp., and Microtermes spp.) were considered more important pests than millipedes (Peridontoyge spp.), tuber beetles (Heterolygus meles and Prionorcytes rufopiceus), mealybugs (Pseudococcus brevipes, Planococcus dioscorea and Ferrisia virgata), and scale insects (Aspidiotus destructor and Aspidiella hartii) in that order. Out of 12 white yam varieties cultivated in the area, “Pona” was identified to be most susceptible to pest attack and “Dentepruka” least susceptible. Anthropological factors such as farmer's origin or residency status, level of education, age, marital status, family size, and the land tenure system were also found to play key roles in the technologies adopted in cultivating yams. The implications of the findings, particularly in identifying appropriate experimental variables for technology generation and transfer to improve yam resource productivity, are discussed.

Highlights

Materials and methods The field study was conducted in June 2000 in two districts (Wenchi and Atebubu) in the Brong Ahafo Region and one district (Ejura/ Sekyedumase) in the Ashanti Region
The results are quite representative of yam production and pest management practices within the districts surveyed
The average age of a yam farmer was 48 years, and 34 per cent of yam farmers were above the age of 50 (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Yams are cultivated as subsistence and commercial crops. They are eaten in various preparations and have very important sociocultural uses. Yams are so important in the culture of Ghanaians that they are the only crops that have several tribes celebrating festivals on their first harvest. They rank second only to cassava among the root and tuber crops in volume of production, but they command better value by weight for weight and from the nutritional point of view (Bell, 1983). They are, ranked number one above all other root crops in importance to the national economy, and play a crucial role in food security and poverty alleviation (Dapaah, 1994; NARSP, 1994)

Objectives

Methods

Results