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FARMERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON MECHANICAL WEEDERS FOR RICE PRODUCTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2018

JEAN-MARTIAL JOHNSON ,
JONNE RODENBURG ,
ATSUKO TANAKA ,
KALIMUTHU SENTHILKUMAR ,
KOKOU AHOUANTON ,
IBNOU DIENG ,
AGOSSOU KLOTOE ,
CYRIAQUE AKAKPO ,
ZACHARIE SEGDA  and
LOUIS P. YAMEOGO
...Show all authors
JEAN-MARTIAL JOHNSON*
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké 01, Côted'Ivoire Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
JONNE RODENBURG
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké 01, Côted'Ivoire Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, United Kingdom
ATSUKO TANAKA
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2031, Cotonou, Benin
KALIMUTHU SENTHILKUMAR
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), East and Southern Africa, P.O. Box 33581, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
KOKOU AHOUANTON
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké 01, Côted'Ivoire
IBNOU DIENG
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké 01, Côted'Ivoire
AGOSSOU KLOTOE
Affiliation:
Programme Recherche Rizicole, INRAB, B.P. 226, Bohicon, Benin
CYRIAQUE AKAKPO
Affiliation:
Programme Recherche Rizicole, INRAB, B.P. 226, Bohicon, Benin
ZACHARIE SEGDA
Affiliation:
Programme Riz et Riziculture, CNRST/INERA, 01 B.P. 910, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
LOUIS P. YAMEOGO
Affiliation:
Programme Riz et Riziculture, CNRST/INERA, 01 B.P. 910, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
HENRI GBAKATCHETCHE
Affiliation:
Programme Riz, CNRA, B.P. 440, Man, Côte d'Ivoire
GEORGE K. ACHEAMPONG
Affiliation:
Rice Program, CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CRI), P.O. Box 3785, Fumesua-Kumasi, Ghana
RALPH K. BAM
Affiliation:
Rice Program, CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CRI), P.O. Box 3785, Fumesua-Kumasi, Ghana
OLADELE S. BAKARE
Affiliation:
Information & Documentation, National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, P. M. B. 8, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria
ALAIN KALISA
Affiliation:
Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB), P.O. Box 5016, Kigali, Rwanda
ELIE R. GASORE
Affiliation:
Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB), P.O. Box 5016, Kigali, Rwanda
SÉKOU ANI
Affiliation:
Programme Riz, Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA), B.P. 2318, Lomé, Togo
KOMLAN ABLEDE
Affiliation:
Programme Riz, Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA), B.P. 2318, Lomé, Togo
KAZUKI SAITO
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), 01 B.P. 2551, Bouaké 01, Côted'Ivoire
*
††††Corresponding author. Email: j.johnson@cgiar.org
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Summary

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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 117 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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