Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of Smallholder Farmers on Agricultural Inputs with a Focus on Biologicals

Abstract

There is a general drive to reduce pesticide use due to the negative effects pesticides can have on the environment and human health. The EU Commission, for example, through its "Farm to Fork Strategy," has proposed to decrease the use of chemical pesticides that are hazardous by 50% by 2030. In addition to the lack of sustainable agri-inputs, conventional safety precautions while applying pesticides are not always followed among smallholder farmers in low-income countries. This necessitates new low-risk crop protection strategies where agricultural biologicals can substitute for or at least partially replace chemical pesticides. Whereas the market and use of biologicals are growing quickly in industrialized countries, this practice remains limited in sub-Saharan Africa. To understand the reason behind the low usage, this study examined knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards agri-inputs with a focus on biologicals among 150 smallholder farmers in the Chole district in Ethiopia. All farmers used chemical pesticides and/or inorganic fertilizers to protect crops, improve yield, and comply with government regulations. Regarding the practice of using biologicals, it was restricted to one group of biologicals, bio-fertilizer, which about 60% of farmers used, whereas no usage of biologicals for plant protection was reported. Even though the understanding of the concept of biologicals was deemed high among respondents, the majority (90%) did not identify biologicals as safer alternatives to conventional agri-inputs. More than half of the respondents (54%) did not recommend biologicals as a safer alternative to their colleagues. Even if the responding farmers did not perceive biologicals as risk-free, they had a positive attitude towards biologicals when it came to producing healthy food and increasing crop yield and income. In comparison to the positive attitude, the farmers’ knowledge and practice of biologicals were in general low; thus, efforts are needed to create awareness among farmers.

Keywords: Agricultural Inputs, Biologicals, Biostimulants, Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP), Sub-saharan Africa, Smallholder Farmers