Cambodian rice farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding insect pest management and pesticide use

ABSTRACT

Insect pests are a serious problem for rice farmers in Cambodia, threatening livelihoods and food security. To protect their yields, farmers are dependent on broad-spectrum pesticides, which has led to a pesticide ‘lock-in’ scenario. Our study aimed to better understand farmers’ current pest management practices and the underlying knowledge and attitudes driving these behaviours. We surveyed rice farming households (n = 168) from five different villages in Battambang Province, Cambodia. Survey respondents considered insect pests to be the most significant cause of yield loss. Respondents depended solely on chemical insecticides to manage insect pests. Combinations of agronomic and pesticide application practices contributed to pesticide dependency, including high seeding rate, insecticide timing and application rate. Additionally, 77% of respondents misidentified the beneficial lady beetle, Micraspis discolor, as a pest. Respondents indicated a desire for education and training on pest and beneficial arthropod identification, safe pesticide use, and improved cropping practices. We suggest critical areas for education and training are damage thresholds of local pests, the role of natural enemies, and improved awareness of pesticide toxicity and exposure. Promoting local knowledge sharing to engage and empower farmers to make informed decisions about their own pest management can forge a pathway away from pesticide dependency.

KEYWORDS:

• Rice
• Cambodia
• Integrated pest management (IPM)
• pesticide dependency
• insect pest management

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Robert Martin from the Sydney Institute of Agriculture for his assistance in the facilitation for data collection for this project and insightful advice regarding surveying farmers. We want to thank the members of the Battambang CamSID team Ratha Rien, Sophea Yous, Sokunroth Chhun, Khiev Santik and Chariya Korn, of the National University of Batambang (NUBB) for their assistance during data collection. We also want to sincerely thank Dr Van Touch for all the time and effort he put into translating survey responses. The authors express gratitude to Dr Rebecca Cross, whose expert insights and advice, particularly regarding survey design and structure was invaluable. The authors also express sincere thanks to Dr Mark Stevens for his valuable guidance throughout the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) under grant [CSE-2015-044]; Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) under the grant Agribusiness Scholarship Program [C001188-0]; and Crawford Fund Australia Student Awards.