Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences
Coconut production is significantly constrained by a wide variety of pests. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that management of these pests is influenced by gender differences. Therefore, there was a need to assess farmers' knowledge about coconut pests, farm-level pest management strategies, a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The American Phytopathological Society
2022-09-01
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| Series: | PhytoFrontiers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTOFR-09-21-0058-R |
| _version_ | 1797326715392884736 |
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| author | Elizabeth Tettey Owusu Fordjour Aidoo Linda Arhin Ritter A. Guimapi Fred Kormla Ablormeti Frank Dampare Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw Jeffet Ekow Cobbah Yayra Afram Frank Kwarteng Ndede Yankey |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Tettey Owusu Fordjour Aidoo Linda Arhin Ritter A. Guimapi Fred Kormla Ablormeti Frank Dampare Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw Jeffet Ekow Cobbah Yayra Afram Frank Kwarteng Ndede Yankey |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Tettey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coconut production is significantly constrained by a wide variety of pests. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that management of these pests is influenced by gender differences. Therefore, there was a need to assess farmers' knowledge about coconut pests, farm-level pest management strategies, and institutions offering training to farmers to develop an ecologically sound management strategy. To achieve this research need, we surveyed six coconut-growing districts, three each from the Western and Central Regions of Ghana, using face-to-face interviews, discussions, and direct observations. In addition, a multistage sampling technique was used to sample the coconut farmers. The sample population for each town was determined using a proportional to population size approach. The sample population was randomly drawn from each town/village using a sampling frame based on the agricultural sector records. The results showed that a majority of the farmers mentioned Oryctes monoceros as the most important coconut pest. Significantly more females than males mentioned weaver birds in their plantations (P = 0.035). The number of women who did not mention any of the pests was significantly higher than that of men (P = 0.007). There was a significant difference between male and female farmers who used indigenous knowledge (i.e., knowledge accumulated by an indigenous [local] population over generations of living in a certain area) (P = 0.018) for pest management. However, pest management strategies did not vary in the Central Region. Our results showed a significant difference between male and female farmers who did not use any of the management strategies, suggesting that future studies and training should consider gender in developing sustainable pest management strategies for the pests. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:28:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c22ecca6e484121aae996d6b575a787 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2690-5442 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:28:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | The American Phytopathological Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PhytoFrontiers |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c22ecca6e484121aae996d6b575a7872024-02-03T13:28:30ZengThe American Phytopathological SocietyPhytoFrontiers2690-54422022-09-012328028810.1094/PHYTOFR-09-21-0058-RFarmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender DifferencesElizabeth Tettey0Owusu Fordjour Aidoo1Linda Arhin2Ritter A. Guimapi3Fred Kormla Ablormeti4Frank Dampare5Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw6Jeffet Ekow Cobbah7Yayra Afram8Frank Kwarteng9Ndede Yankey10Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaUniversity of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (SNES), PMB, Somanya, E/R, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaNorwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), P.O. Box 1433, Ås, NorwayCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), P.O. Box CT 519, Cantonments, Accra, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), P.O. Box CT 519, Cantonments, Accra, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Coconut Research Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, W/R, GhanaCoconut production is significantly constrained by a wide variety of pests. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that management of these pests is influenced by gender differences. Therefore, there was a need to assess farmers' knowledge about coconut pests, farm-level pest management strategies, and institutions offering training to farmers to develop an ecologically sound management strategy. To achieve this research need, we surveyed six coconut-growing districts, three each from the Western and Central Regions of Ghana, using face-to-face interviews, discussions, and direct observations. In addition, a multistage sampling technique was used to sample the coconut farmers. The sample population for each town was determined using a proportional to population size approach. The sample population was randomly drawn from each town/village using a sampling frame based on the agricultural sector records. The results showed that a majority of the farmers mentioned Oryctes monoceros as the most important coconut pest. Significantly more females than males mentioned weaver birds in their plantations (P = 0.035). The number of women who did not mention any of the pests was significantly higher than that of men (P = 0.007). There was a significant difference between male and female farmers who used indigenous knowledge (i.e., knowledge accumulated by an indigenous [local] population over generations of living in a certain area) (P = 0.018) for pest management. However, pest management strategies did not vary in the Central Region. Our results showed a significant difference between male and female farmers who did not use any of the management strategies, suggesting that future studies and training should consider gender in developing sustainable pest management strategies for the pests. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTOFR-09-21-0058-Rcoconutcoconut mitesgenderpestsrodentsweaver birds |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Tettey Owusu Fordjour Aidoo Linda Arhin Ritter A. Guimapi Fred Kormla Ablormeti Frank Dampare Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw Jeffet Ekow Cobbah Yayra Afram Frank Kwarteng Ndede Yankey Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences PhytoFrontiers coconut coconut mites gender pests rodents weaver birds |
| title | Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences |
| title_full | Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences |
| title_fullStr | Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences |
| title_short | Farmers' Knowledge and Farm-Level Management Practices of Coconut Pests in Ghana: Assessment Based on Gender Differences |
| title_sort | farmers knowledge and farm level management practices of coconut pests in ghana assessment based on gender differences |
| topic | coconut coconut mites gender pests rodents weaver birds |
| url | https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTOFR-09-21-0058-R |
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