Determinants of Pesticide Use in Cocoa Production in Nigeria

Pesticide application in cocoa production is a widely adopted technology by cocoa farmers to combat pest attack which is a predominant phenomenon in cocoa production. This study examined the determinants of pesticide use in cocoa production in Nigeria. Specifically, it described the pesticide use pattern in cocoa production, determined the socio-economic factors influencing pesticide use in cocoa production and identified the problems associated with pesticide use in cocoa production in Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 390 cocoa farmers for the study. Data were collected with the aid of questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and OLS. Results showed that, the major pesticide used in the study area were fungicide, insecticide and herbicide with cocoa farmers using approximately 4,000gmai/l of pesticides per season. OLS regression analysis revealed that price of pesticide (p<0.01), farm size (p<0.01), income (p<0.05), extension visits (p<0.01) and cocoa variety (p<0.05) were the factors influencing pesticide use in cocoa production in Nigeria. Major problems associated with pesticide use in Nigeria were high cost of pesticides (100%), lack of subsidy by government (95.1%), adulteration of pesticides (86.3%), non-availability of pesticides at the right time (75.1%) and high cost of spraying equipment (65.1%). The study suggested that concerted efforts should be intensified by government and other stakeholders at making pesticide readily available and affordable to farmers especially at government designated centres.