Farmers' knowledge and perceptions of cotton insect pests and their control practices in Ghana

A survey of 337 cotton farmers in the three northern regions of Ghana was conducted between November 2002 and March 2003 with the objectives of assessing farmers' knowledge and perceptions of cotton insect pests and examining their control practices. The survey revealed that between 69 and 86% of the farmers were illiterate. Farmers' age average 42 years and had an average of 9 years of cotton farming experience. Farmers were familiar with cotton insect pests, especially those whose feeding caused obvious symptoms in the field such as bollworms, leafrollers and cotton stainers. Farmers relied on chemical insecticides supplied by their contract cotton companies to control insect pests on their fields. Insecticides from three classes namely organochlorines (e.g. endosulfan), pyrethroids (e.g. Lambda-cyhalothrin), organophosphates (e.g. Chlorpyrifos) or their mixtures were used. An average of five applications were made during the season. Farmers indicated that the control practice was largely ineffective against the pests, and attributed the cause to the use of expired and inadequate quantities of chemicals. The study showed that only 28% of the respondents had some knowledge of alternative pest control measures. It is important to improve farmers' knowledge and management skills of cotton insect pests through participatory research and training in integrated pest management (IPM). IPM training through farmer field schools will help farmers to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to improve their management of insect pests on their fields. Keywords: cotton, farmer knowledge and perception, insect pest control, Ghana Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 26(1) 2006: 39-4

Assessing the technical efficiency of maize production in northern ghana: the data envelopment analysis approach

Maize is a major source of food and cash for smallholder farmers. However, average yield in Ghana is less than a third of the achievable yield and thus the need to close this gap by improving the technical efficiency of farming households through employing the right combination of productive resources to achieve food sustainability. This study used the input-oriented data envelopment analysis to examine the technical efficiency of maize production in northern Ghana1 using cross-sectional data for the 2011/2012 cropping season. The mean technical efficiency was 77%, giving credence to the existence of production inefficiency. Technically, efficient farmers used an average of 395.80 kg of chemical fertilizer, 27.04 kg of seed, 4.04 l of weedicides and hired labour of three persons to produce a yield of 2.34 tons/ha of maize. Largely, maize production exhibited increasing returns to scale. Agricultural mechanization and level of formal education did not have positive effects on technical efficiency, whereas agricultural extension had a positive effect on technical efficiency. Technical efficiency in maize production could be improved through informal and non-formal educational platforms where farmers without formal education learn improved cultivation practices. The agricultural extension department should be strengthened to provide effective extension services to farmers to improve on their technical efficiency. Animal and other non-mechanized power sources are complementary technologies and as such should be allowed to co-exist in Ghanaian agriculture