Farmers’ knowledge and management practices of cereal, legume and vegetable insect pests, and willingness to pay for biopesticides

Abstract

We utilized data from cereal, legume, and vegetable growers in Kenya and Uganda to assess their knowledge and management practices of common pests and willingness to pay (WTP) for biopesticides. The contingent valuation method was used to assess the WTP and associated factors among 600 and 700 farmers in Kenya and Uganda, respectively. Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) was reported as the major maize pest in both countries, while aphids (Aphis spp.) and Tuta absoluta were ranked as the main legume and vegetable pests, respectively. Most farmers (>65%) used chemical pesticides as the main method to control pests, with most of them (>70%) being aware of the negative effects of chemical pesticides on human health. A higher proportion of vegetable farmers (>80%) were WTP a premium price for biopesticides compared to 60% and 50% of the maize and legume farmers, respectively. On average the WTP price was estimated at US$23.33, US$18.27, and US$15.74 per acre among the vegetable, maize, and legume growers, respectively. Being a male, more educated, with higher income, aware of the negative effects of chemical pesticide use, and a risk-taker increased WTP for biopesticides. On the flip side, old age, big family size, and having trust to other community members decreased WTP for biopesticides. Our findings provide insights into the market opportunities of biopesticides in Kenya and Uganda. Training farmers on the benefits of biopesticides may promote their attitude towards the utilization of this kind of pesticides and consequently reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Keywords:

• Biopesticides
• willingness-to-pay
• contingent valuation method
• Kenya
• Uganda

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the BioInnovate Africa Phase I to the project ‘Promoting smallholder access to fungal biopesticides through Public–Private Partnerships in East Africa (PROSAFE)’, project code BA/CI/2017-02 (PROSAFE) and Department for International Development (DFID). International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) also receives core funding from UK Aid from the UK Government, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the Kenyan Government. The funding bodies had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data as well as in writing the manuscript. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of icipe or the donors. The authors are also grateful to the farmers who dedicated their time to participate in the household surveys, the enumerators for their effort in data collection and Emily Kimathi for the cartography of the study area.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).