Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa

Competition from weeds is one of the major biophysical constraints to rice (Oryza spp.) production in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder rice farmers require efficient, affordable and labour-saving weed management technologies. Mechanical weeders have shown to fit this profile. Several mechanical weede...

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Autores principales: Johnson, J-M., Rodenburg, J., Tanaka, A., Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu, Ahouanton, K., Dieng, I., Klotoe, A., Akakpo, C., Segda, Zénabou, Yameogo, L.P., Gbakatchetche, H., Acheampong, G.K., Bam, R.K., Bakare, O.S., Kalisa, A., Gasore, E.R., Ani, S., Ablede, K., Saito, Kazuki
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Cambridge University Press 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102029
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author Johnson, J-M.
Rodenburg, J.
Tanaka, A.
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Ahouanton, K.
Dieng, I.
Klotoe, A.
Akakpo, C.
Segda, Zénabou
Yameogo, L.P.
Gbakatchetche, H.
Acheampong, G.K.
Bam, R.K.
Bakare, O.S.
Kalisa, A.
Gasore, E.R.
Ani, S.
Ablede, K.
Saito, Kazuki
author_browse Ablede, K.
Acheampong, G.K.
Ahouanton, K.
Akakpo, C.
Ani, S.
Bakare, O.S.
Bam, R.K.
Dieng, I.
Gasore, E.R.
Gbakatchetche, H.
Johnson, J-M.
Kalisa, A.
Klotoe, A.
Rodenburg, J.
Saito, Kazuki
Segda, Zénabou
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Tanaka, A.
Yameogo, L.P.
author_facet Johnson, J-M.
Rodenburg, J.
Tanaka, A.
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Ahouanton, K.
Dieng, I.
Klotoe, A.
Akakpo, C.
Segda, Zénabou
Yameogo, L.P.
Gbakatchetche, H.
Acheampong, G.K.
Bam, R.K.
Bakare, O.S.
Kalisa, A.
Gasore, E.R.
Ani, S.
Ablede, K.
Saito, Kazuki
author_sort Johnson, J-M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Competition from weeds is one of the major biophysical constraints to rice (Oryza spp.) production in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder rice farmers require efficient, affordable and labour-saving weed management technologies. Mechanical weeders have shown to fit this profile. Several mechanical weeder types exist but little is known about locally specific differences in performance and farmer preference between these types. Three to six different weeder types were evaluated at 10 different sites across seven countries – i.e., Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Togo. A total of 310 farmers (173 male, 137 female) tested the weeders, scored them for their preference, and compared them with their own weed management practices. In a follow-up study, 186 farmers from Benin and Nigeria received the ring hoe, which was the most preferred in these two countries, to use it during the entire crop growing season. Farmers were surveyed on their experiences. The probability of the ring hoe having the highest score among the tested weeders was 71%. The probability of farmers' preference of the ring hoe over their usual practices – i.e., herbicide, traditional hoe and hand weeding – was 52, 95 and 91%, respectively. The preference of this weeder was not related to gender, years of experience with rice cultivation, rice field size, weed infestation level, water status or soil texture. In the follow-up study, 80% of farmers who used the ring hoe indicated that weeding time was reduced by at least 31%. Of the farmers testing the ring hoe in the follow-up study, 35% used it also for other crops such as vegetables, maize, sorghum, cassava and millet. These results suggest that the ring hoe offers a gender-neutral solution for reducing labour for weeding in rice as well as other crops and that it is compatible with a wide range of environments. The implications of our findings and challenges for out-scaling of mechanical weeders are discussed.
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spelling CGSpace1020292024-08-27T10:35:03Z Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa Johnson, J-M. Rodenburg, J. Tanaka, A. Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu Ahouanton, K. Dieng, I. Klotoe, A. Akakpo, C. Segda, Zénabou Yameogo, L.P. Gbakatchetche, H. Acheampong, G.K. Bam, R.K. Bakare, O.S. Kalisa, A. Gasore, E.R. Ani, S. Ablede, K. Saito, Kazuki weeders subsaharan africa rice Competition from weeds is one of the major biophysical constraints to rice (Oryza spp.) production in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder rice farmers require efficient, affordable and labour-saving weed management technologies. Mechanical weeders have shown to fit this profile. Several mechanical weeder types exist but little is known about locally specific differences in performance and farmer preference between these types. Three to six different weeder types were evaluated at 10 different sites across seven countries – i.e., Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Togo. A total of 310 farmers (173 male, 137 female) tested the weeders, scored them for their preference, and compared them with their own weed management practices. In a follow-up study, 186 farmers from Benin and Nigeria received the ring hoe, which was the most preferred in these two countries, to use it during the entire crop growing season. Farmers were surveyed on their experiences. The probability of the ring hoe having the highest score among the tested weeders was 71%. The probability of farmers' preference of the ring hoe over their usual practices – i.e., herbicide, traditional hoe and hand weeding – was 52, 95 and 91%, respectively. The preference of this weeder was not related to gender, years of experience with rice cultivation, rice field size, weed infestation level, water status or soil texture. In the follow-up study, 80% of farmers who used the ring hoe indicated that weeding time was reduced by at least 31%. Of the farmers testing the ring hoe in the follow-up study, 35% used it also for other crops such as vegetables, maize, sorghum, cassava and millet. These results suggest that the ring hoe offers a gender-neutral solution for reducing labour for weeding in rice as well as other crops and that it is compatible with a wide range of environments. The implications of our findings and challenges for out-scaling of mechanical weeders are discussed. 2019-02 2019-07-02T14:56:58Z 2019-07-02T14:56:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102029 en Limited Access Cambridge University Press Johnson, J-M., Rodenburg, J., Tanaka, A., Senthilkumar, K., Ahouanton, K., Dieng, I., Klotoe, A., Akakpo, C., Segda, Z., Yameogo, L.P., Gbakatchetche, H., Acheampong, G.K., Bam, R.K., Bakare, O.S., Kalisa, A., Gasore, E.R., Ani, S., Ablede, K., and Saito, K. 2019. Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa. Experimental Agriculture, 55(1), 117-131.
spellingShingle weeders
subsaharan africa
rice
Johnson, J-M.
Rodenburg, J.
Tanaka, A.
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Ahouanton, K.
Dieng, I.
Klotoe, A.
Akakpo, C.
Segda, Zénabou
Yameogo, L.P.
Gbakatchetche, H.
Acheampong, G.K.
Bam, R.K.
Bakare, O.S.
Kalisa, A.
Gasore, E.R.
Ani, S.
Ablede, K.
Saito, Kazuki
Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title_short Farmers' perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort farmers perceptions on mechanical weeders for rice production in sub saharan africa
topic weeders
subsaharan africa
rice
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102029
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