Abstract:
The study which was carried out in the Ga East and Ga West districts of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, examined the competencies of small-scale farmers in the sound management of pesticides.
A descriptive correlational survey was used to determine the small-scale farmers' perceived awareness levels of alternative pest control methods, perceived environmental, health and safety awareness levels and perceived usefulness of major sources of pesticide management information available to them. The study also determined the relationship between the perceived competencies of farmers in the sound management of pesticides and key selected independent variables of the study. The predictor(s) of the competencies of small-scale farmers in the sound management of pesticides were also determined.
The results of the study showed that, the mean perceived environmental, health and safety awareness level of effects of pesticide use in agriculture (Mean ::: 2.75; SD = 0.99) mean perceived overall awareness level of alternative pest control methods (Mean = 2.55; SD = 0.97) of small-scale farmers were moderate. They perceived AEAs as being a very effective source of pesticide management information (PMI) while, their perceived awareness level of environmental, health and safety effects of pesticides was the overall best predictor, and accounted for 59.3% of the variance in their perceived competence in the sound management of pesticides.
It is recommended that, there should be intensive training of small-scale farmers in best practices for the proper management of pesticides in agriculture.
