Farmers' perception of the usefulness of vetiver grass for termite control on Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone farmlands, south-western Nigeria

The study investigated farmers' perception on the use of vetiver grass for termite control in Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone, south-western Nigeria. Respondents were selected using purposeful sampling technique from four out of the five local government areas (LGAs) that made up the agricultural zone. Sampling was restricted to the farmers that could identify vetiver, based on our preliminary informal investigation. Information was elicited from the respondents on damage caused by termites, termite control practices, awareness of the potentials of vetiver grass for termite control, perception of the usefulness of vetiver grass for termite control and reasons for adoption of vetiver. Sixty five validly filled questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square. A larger proportion of the respondents (33.3%) were 40-49 years old and 81.5% of the respondents were married. A larger percentage of the respondents (35.4%) had no formal education, while 23.1% had primary education. The respondents were predominantly Christians (58.5%) while 38.50% practised Islam. Male gender formed the majority (72.3%) of the respondents. Respondents' perception of the type of damage caused by termites on crops was significantly affected by their educational qualification (X2 = 4.941, p = 0.026), the majority (81.8%) who were illiterates agreed that termite reduced crop yield. The proportion of the respondents who used chemical method for control of termites was significantly affected by secondary occupation (X2 = 4.740, p = 0.029) with the civil servants (53.8%), those who have private businesses (63.9%) and the students (66.7%) being the predominant users of chemical termiticides. Respondents' perception of the effectiveness of vetiver grass for the control of termites was significantly affected by their secondary occupation (X2 = 3.853, p = 0.050); the majority (77.8%) who were into private businesses strongly agreed on the effectiveness of vetiver grass for the control of termites. It is recommended that agricultural extension agents should educate farmers on the potentials of vetiver grass as a compatible strategy with chemical method for control of termites.