Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies

Smallholder farmers in Malawi and Zambia face significant challenges to their food security and welfare owing to the increasing prevalence of crop pests and diseases, such as the fall armyworm (FAW), groundnut rosette virus (GRV), and soybean rust. As climate change is projected to exacerbate these...

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Autores principales: Mulungu, Kelvin H., Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri, Ngoma, Hambulo
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175116
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author Mulungu, Kelvin H.
Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri
Ngoma, Hambulo
author_browse Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri
Mulungu, Kelvin H.
Ngoma, Hambulo
author_facet Mulungu, Kelvin H.
Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri
Ngoma, Hambulo
author_sort Mulungu, Kelvin H.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Smallholder farmers in Malawi and Zambia face significant challenges to their food security and welfare owing to the increasing prevalence of crop pests and diseases, such as the fall armyworm (FAW), groundnut rosette virus (GRV), and soybean rust. As climate change is projected to exacerbate these threats, understanding their impact and identifying effective control strategies is crucial. This study aims to determine the impact of these pests on crop yields, household income, and food security, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of various control strategies using survey data from 1100 farmers in Malawi and Zambia. The descriptive results show that approximately 70% of the farmers experience FAW attacks in their maize fields, approximately 28% experience rosette in their groundnuts, and 40% of the farmers report soybean rust infestations. The econometric results show that FAW, rosette, and soybean rust result in 13.5%, 27.2%, and 25.2% yield loss in maize, groundnuts, and soybean, respectively. We also find that the FAW negatively affects income and food security. While rust, rosette, and their combination had no significant effect on income and food security, their combination with FAW led to a greater negative impact than the FAW alone. Although farmers employ multiple strategies to control these pests/diseases, we find evidence, albeit not robust to different estimation strategies, that pesticides, crop rotation, and the use of improved seeds aid in reducing the negative effect of pests/diseases on crop yields. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that can inform policies and interventions aimed at enhancing food security and supporting resilient farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
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spelling CGSpace1751162025-10-26T12:56:54Z Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies Mulungu, Kelvin H. Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri Ngoma, Hambulo crop rotation diseases seeds pesticides pests groundnuts soybeans Smallholder farmers in Malawi and Zambia face significant challenges to their food security and welfare owing to the increasing prevalence of crop pests and diseases, such as the fall armyworm (FAW), groundnut rosette virus (GRV), and soybean rust. As climate change is projected to exacerbate these threats, understanding their impact and identifying effective control strategies is crucial. This study aims to determine the impact of these pests on crop yields, household income, and food security, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of various control strategies using survey data from 1100 farmers in Malawi and Zambia. The descriptive results show that approximately 70% of the farmers experience FAW attacks in their maize fields, approximately 28% experience rosette in their groundnuts, and 40% of the farmers report soybean rust infestations. The econometric results show that FAW, rosette, and soybean rust result in 13.5%, 27.2%, and 25.2% yield loss in maize, groundnuts, and soybean, respectively. We also find that the FAW negatively affects income and food security. While rust, rosette, and their combination had no significant effect on income and food security, their combination with FAW led to a greater negative impact than the FAW alone. Although farmers employ multiple strategies to control these pests/diseases, we find evidence, albeit not robust to different estimation strategies, that pesticides, crop rotation, and the use of improved seeds aid in reducing the negative effect of pests/diseases on crop yields. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that can inform policies and interventions aimed at enhancing food security and supporting resilient farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. 2025-05 2025-06-16T21:53:45Z 2025-06-16T21:53:45Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175116 en Open Access application/pdf Wiley Mulungu, K., Pangapanga‐Phiri, I., & Ngoma, H. (2025). Impacts of fall armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies. Food and Energy Security, 14(3), e70078. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70078
spellingShingle crop rotation
diseases
seeds
pesticides
pests
groundnuts
soybeans
Mulungu, Kelvin H.
Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri
Ngoma, Hambulo
Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title_full Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title_fullStr Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title_short Impacts of fall Armyworm, groundnut rosette, and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
title_sort impacts of fall armyworm groundnut rosette and soybean rust diseases on smallholder welfare and the effectiveness of control strategies
topic crop rotation
diseases
seeds
pesticides
pests
groundnuts
soybeans
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175116
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