Show simple item record

Farmers perceptions of the speargrass (Imperata cylindrica) problem and its control in the lowland subhumid savannah of Nigeria

dc.contributor.authorChikoye, D.
dc.contributor.authorEllis-Jones, J.
dc.contributor.authorTarawali, G.
dc.contributor.authorKormawa, P.
dc.contributor.authorNielsen, O.
dc.contributor.authorIbana, S.
dc.contributor.authorAvav, T.
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-04T11:18:05Z
dc.date.available2019-12-04T11:18:05Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.identifier.citationChikoye, D., Ellis-Jones, J., Tarawali, G., Kormawa, P., Nielsen, O., Ibana, S. & Avav, T. (2006). Farmers' perceptions of the speargrass (Imperata cylindrica) problem and its control in the lowland sub-humid savannah of Nigeria. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, 4(3 & 4), 118-126.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/3038
dc.description.abstractSpeargrassseverely constraints crop production in the sub-humid lowlands of West Africa. Researchers have identified and demonstrated effectivemanagement techniques but the adoption rate among farmers is still low. Data were collected from 41 communities in Cross River, Kogi and BenueStates in Nigeria using rural rapid appraisal techniques. The objectives were to assess the importance of agriculture in the livelihoods of eachcommunity, identify priority crops, assess perceptions of the speargrass problem, identify existing speargrass control strategies and localinstitutions/farmers with the capacity to implement speargrass control trials. Crop production was the main source of livelihood for all households.The most important crops from the perspectives of both food security and cash sale were cassava and yam, and these were most affected by theweed. Speargrass was the major constraint to crop production because of lack of capital for hiring labour and purchasing inputs, declining soilfertility, bush burning, deforestation, continuous cropping and lack of required skills. Slashing, hand-pulling, burning, deep digging and fallowingwere the most common control methods used by farmers, but these were very labour intensive and ultimately not effective. Farmers assessedspeargrass control measures through labour and cash requirements, material availability, effectiveness, time span to achieve control and cropyields. They rated chemical control most highly. Longer fallow periods and re-afforestation were effective but impractical as pressure on landintensifies from population growth. From the results of this study, we conclude that the use of community-based participatory a pproaches is essential to identify various technologies for combating speargrass.
dc.description.sponsorshipDepartment for International Development, United Kingdom
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectChemical Control
dc.subjectCrop Production
dc.subjectFarmers' Perceptions
dc.subjectFood Security
dc.subjectLand Degradation
dc.subjectSpeargrass
dc.subjectParticipatory Research Approaches
dc.subjectWeed Control
dc.subjectYield Loss.
dc.titleFarmers perceptions of the speargrass (Imperata cylindrica) problem and its control in the lowland subhumid savannah of Nigeria
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.description.versionPeer Review
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.contributor.affiliationSilsoe Research Institute
cg.contributor.affiliationAfrica Rice Center
cg.contributor.affiliationFederal University of Agriculture, Nigeria
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionAcp
cg.coverage.regionWest Africa
cg.coverage.regionEurope
cg.coverage.countryNigeria
cg.coverage.countryUnited Kingdom
cg.coverage.countryBenin
cg.isijournalISI Journal
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country institute
cg.iitasubjectPlant Production
cg.iitasubjectFood Security
cg.iitasubjectHandling, Transport, Storage And Protection Of Agricultural Products
cg.iitasubjectDisease Control
cg.iitasubjectDomestic Trade
cg.iitasubjectFarm Management
cg.iitasubjectLivelihoods
cg.iitasubjectMarkets
cg.iitasubjectNutrition
cg.iitasubjectPests Of Plants
cg.iitasubjectMarkets
cg.iitasubjectPlant Breeding
cg.iitasubjectPlant Diseases
cg.iitasubjectPlant Genetic Resources
cg.iitasubjectPlant Health
cg.accessibilitystatusLimited Access
local.dspaceid94504


Files in this item

FilesSizeFormatView

There are no files associated with this item.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record