Impact of Adoption of Integrated Pest Management Practices on the Suppression of Mango fruit fly Infestation in Embu County, Kenya

This study utilized a two-wave panel data to estimate the impact of a bundle of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices on three outcome variables (net income, expenditure on pesticides, and post-harvest losses) arising from the suppression of fruit fly infestation among mango farmers in Embu County, Kenya. A difference-in-difference model was fitted on a sample of 165 mango farmers drawn using a cluster sampling method to estimate the impacts of IPM while a fixed effects model was used to test for the model’s robustness. The impacts were differentiated by three treatments including the use of male annihilation technique (MAT) only, auto-dissemination technique (ADT) only, and using both MAT and ADT, while the conventional fruit fly management method (use of chemical pesticides) was used as the control group. The results show increased mango net income among the treated groups and reduced expenditure on pesticides and post-harvest losses among the same group compared to the control. Farmers who received MAT+ADT intervention reported the highest increase in mango net income and, a reduction in the expenditure on pesticides and postharvest losses due to fruit fly infestations. Further results show a negative effect of group membership on the proportion of post-harvest losses, and a positive influence of access to extension services on mango farmers’ net income. The study recommends the integration of ADT into the existing conventional fruit fly IPM components to enhance the suppression of invasive pests. In addition, development initiatives that promote information dissemination through innovative agricultural extension approaches and mango production and marketing groups are recommended.