Farmers’ perception of pest status and management of rodents in small-scale farming systems in East Gojjam, Ethiopia

Abstract

Data on farmers’ perception of rodent pest status and management intervention are limited in Ethiopia. The study aimed to explore farmers’ perceptions of crop yield loss due to rodents, management interventions and factors influencing their perceptions. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed in R. The result showed that rodents were important agricultural pests, responsible for an average of 231.7 kg/ha crop yield loss per household annually. Farmers’ perception was significantly influenced by family size, farmland size, age, education and location of the farmlands. With an increase in farmers’ family size, age and farmland size, perceived crop yield loss/kg significantly decreases. Similarly, farmers with informal education experience significantly higher crop yield loss than those with grades 1–5 completed. However, farmers with grade six and above completed experience significantly lower yield loss than those with grades 1–5 completed. Wheat and teff were more susceptible to rodent damage at the growth stage, while maize was at the threshing (harvesting) stage. Most farmers believed that rodent interventions were effective when applied at these crop developmental stages, and rodenticide was the most effective method. Farmers have substantial knowledge to identify the most vulnerable crop developmental stage and management techniques against pest rodents. However, authors recommend that farmers should adopt ecologically-based rodent pest management to reduce crop yield loss and environmental concerns of rodenticides.