A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CLIMATE AND PEST OUTBREAK IN THE SUB-HUMID PART OF NIGERIA
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2000
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Sociology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin
Abstract
The menace of pest outbreak has always been a major
constraint to agricultural productivity, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. Various efforts have been geared towards reducing• the havoc by pests on crops, such, that no particular method can be judged to be exclusively the best. The present study is an attempt aimed at incorporating the modern and the indigenous techniques of pest control and the management of pest outbreak in A,Jigeria. Information on both Data were sourceo using both primary & secondary means. The frequency of grass hopper occurrence and climate variables, such as rainfall amount and frequency, number ot, rain day, temperatures (soil and air), relative humidity and sunshine duration, were collected for the period of 14 years (1976-1989). Also, questionnaire was designed to examine farmers' perception on the impact of climate on crop pest outbreak. Simple frequency, percentages and means were calculated from the data collected while chi-square technique of analysis was used to determine the randomness of response and to relate indigenous farmers' perception to the scientific conclusion as observed through the result of analysis of meteorological data collected. The result of the analysiS revealed the existence of an overlap between indigenous knowledge and the modern scientific approach. For instance, observed years are subsumed within the range of the years perceived as severe. However, farmers could not vividly recollect the years of mild outbreak. Again, both modern scientific and indigenous approaches acknowledge drought as the main catalyst to grass hopper menace in Kabba. A combination of their knowledge with documented evidence, based on research, would provide optimal managment of pest outbreak and agricultural planning in the area. An integratlon of the approaches is therefore being suggested in this paper.
Description
Keywords
Kabba, Nigeria, Kogi State, Information