Effectiveness of Integrated Pest Management Practices Utilized by Farmers in Osun State, Nigeria

The study examined the effectiveness of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices utilized by Osogbo Catholic Rural Development (RUDEP) farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Personal and socio-economic characteristics, types of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) utilized, level of utilization of IPM and effectiveness of IPM utilized by the respondents were studied. The study involved 36 RUDEP groups in their four agricultural zones (Ila, Ijesa, Osogbo and Atakumosa) in Osun state, Nigeria. Systematic random sampling was employed to select 131 respondents from the 523 registered farmers, representing 25% of the population. Data were collected using an interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that 31.3 percent of the respondents' were between 51 and 60 years old, most (93.9 %) were married, 79.4 percent were male, while 20.6 percent were female, Christian (67.9 %) and Muslim (32.1 %). 25.2 percent of the respondents had no formal education and 45.8 percent had below 20 years farming experience. Kerosene-soap solution (86.3%), tobacco-soap solution (72.5), Siam-weed-soap solution (66.4 %) were the IPM mostly utilized by farmers. There was positive and significant relationship at p < 0.05 between marital status (r = 0.056), ethnicity (r = 0.092), nativity (r = 0.244, ), income (r = 0.358), farming experience (r = 0.036) and the level of effectiveness of integrated pest practices. In conclusion, termite is the main enemies of the farmers on the farm. The IPM utilized by the farmers was very effective and generally accepted without any cultural or religious bias, hence, scientific investigation is necessary to substantiate the farmers' perception of IPMs.