Adoption of Integrated Pest Management Practices (IPM): Enhancing climate resilience among smallholder tomato farmers in North central, Nigeria

Conference submission

Ololade Latifat Abdulrahman, Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum, Jabulani Nyengere, Pearl Lefadola and Tafadzwa Maramura

Abstract: Integrated Pest Management Practices (IPM) have proven to be an environmentally friendly tool to control pest infestations. However, its adoption among farmers is yet to be ascertained. This study, therefore, assessed the adoption of IPM among smallholder tomato farmers. A 2-stage sampling technique was used to select 180 respondents, using an interview schedule. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The result showed that the majority of the farmers were males (57.2%), with a mean age of 43 years, no formal education (48.9%), a mean household size of 7 persons, a mean farm size of 4 ha and a mean years of experience of 7 years. Most of the respondents (53.9%) belong to an association with no contact with an extension agent (66.1%). The result further revealed that family and friends were the main sources of information on IPM. The most widely adopted IPM practice was weed removal on tomato farms, while long distances to markets for purchasing IPM technologies (mean = 3.84), inadequate government support (mean = 3.76), and lack of timely expert advice (mean = 3.65) were constraints to IPM adoption. The regression analysis revealed that none of the socio-economic characteristics were significant, suggesting that stronger factors, such as institutional support, access to extension services, training exposure, and farmers' perceived benefits, influence the use of IPM more than the socio-economic characteristics alone. Establishment of community hubs where IPM technologies are accessible, training of tomato farmers for optimal use, and provision of institutional and extension support were recommended.

Keywords: Climate resilience, Integrated Pest Management Practices, tomato farmers, Pest infestation