FARMERS INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF CROP PESTS AND THEIR DAMAGE IN WESTERN KENYA

In smallholder farming in Africa, the literature on agricultural development emphasizes the need for research institutions to understand indigenous knowledge systems in a bid to adapt their technologies to local farmers' situations and enhance the acceptance and adoption of these technologies. In a study of farmers' knowledge of crop pests in a project in Oyugis and Kendu Bay in western Kenya, farmers were knowledgeable about a large number of crop pests, such as birds, weeds, wild animals such as porcupines, and insects such as stem borers. However, activities to control the pests, especially stem borers, were minimal or non-existent. Farmers who had been exposed to sources of information about improved farming were better informed about pests, but made little effort to control them.