Tropentag, September 11 - 13, 2024, Vienna "Explore opportunities... for managing natural resources and a better life for all"

Behaviour and attitude toward integrated pest management in Burkina Faso: A gender length perspective in the Cascade region

¹Institute for Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA), Burkina Faso
²University of Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Many of cowpea varieties are vulnerable to pest attacks in Burkina Faso. This has been a concern for many farmers who are desperately looking for solutions. So far, the impact of increased use of pesticides in agricultural production is consider as a threat to human and environmental health. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is believed to be an alternative toward conventional pest management practices that conventional agriculture brought about. The implementation of such system that combines different forms of biological, cultural and chemical control, while minimising the use of synthetic pesticides face also multiple challenges especially in Burkina Faso despite efforts. Using the multidimensional project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI), this study aims at looking some of the 12 binary indicators, underlying count versions of 6 of these, an aggregate empowerment score (continuous) and a binary aggregate empowerment indicator, all for women and men. Women’s and men’s scores were compared to assess gender parity. The result shows that the challenges in implementing IPM programmes and adoption of IPM practices are closely linked to gender and socio-economic factors in addition to supporting policy at national level that could help make available ecological pest management products. The study conducted in the cascade regions shows that the nature of IPM remain manual and therefore requires more time and extra efforts and patience to cover a reasonable size of land. Women therefore, despite lack of training and knowledge are so far the champions in the use of such system on their small plots. The heaviness of the implementation of the system does not allow men to fully get involve in this. In addition, the challenges in IPM implementation have implications on the type of farming system taking into account the capacity of the farmer in terms of land size and manpower.

Keywords: Burkina Faso, gender, implementation, IPM

Contact Address: Eveline Marie Fulbert Windinmi Compaoré, Institute for Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA), 01 BP 476, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, e-mail: compeveyahoo.fr