Abstract:
The Ghanaian public and government have come to realise that the use of chemical
pesticides by vegetable farmers to control pests and diseases in the country is increasing and
if agricultural production is to be sustainable and safe to humans and the environment, then
intensive farming systems should become less dependent on chemical pesticides. The topdown approach characterizes most of the interventions that have attempted to address this
production constraint of vegetable farmers in Ghana. The farmers have not been fully
involved in the process of developing technological options which can help produce healthy
vegetables at the same time sustaining the environment. The research was a collaboration
between the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension of the University of Cape
Coast and GTZ/Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) Project. It was an Action
Research, which experimented on Integrated Crop Protection (ICP) strategies using
participatory approaches among farmers in Anyima in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.
The concern is that agriculture is becoming more and more complex and any intervention
aimed at assisting farmers to manage crops efficiently must be holistic in nature. It should
integrate the major cultural practices of farmers. Vegetable farmers in Anyima are aware of
the practices of ICP but their knowledge and skills in the practice are limited. The farmers
accepted the Participatory Technology Development (PTD) and ICP concept introduced by
GTZ/MOFA Project and are prepared to continue. However, they will need regular
assistance from agricultural extension agents in learning the basic principles underlying
PTD and ICP. The vegetable farmers came to the conclusion that ‘neem leaf extract’ can be
used alongside the chemical pesticides in controlling destructive caterpillars on tomato
farms. Evaluation of farmers’ responses to PTD in ICP indicated that the process facilitates
group work, encourages the use of local resources, reduces the over-dependence on chemical
pesticides and gives farmers the skills to research into their production problems
