Assessment of Farmers' Awareness of the Locust Pest Problem and Their Adoption of Control Measures in Taluka Nasirabad, District Qambar Shahdadkot

Abstract

The present research was conducted in Nasirabad taluka of Qambar Shahdadkot district through a survey. The aim was to assess farmers' awareness of locust pest issues and their adoption of control measures. A purposive sampling method was used, with a total of 125 farmers surveyed, selecting 25 from each Union Council. Results revealed that the majority of respondents (56%) were aged 41 and older, 60% had received only a primary level of education, and 72% had over 21 years of farming experience. Additionally, 56% of the farmers owned 5 acres of land. Alarmingly, 89.6% lacked knowledge of traditional pest control methods, such as killing locust swarms and tricking hoppers. Moreover, 81.6% of farmers were unaware of chemical control methods, including organophosphate insecticides. The data indicated that 50% of farmers had not adopted traditional control methods at all, and 100% did not use sound-based deterrents or nets sprayed with garlic or neem oil. Furthermore, 80% had not implemented biological control measures involving neem, and all were unfamiliar with other biological methods like linseed oil or the use of natural locust predators. Importantly, 100% of farmers reported no adoption of chemical control methods. Awareness of agricultural resources was also low: 45.6% were unaware of agricultural extension workers, 40% of pesticide agents, 47.2% of neighboring farmers, and 46.4% of social media as a source of information. A significant majority, 94.4% and 92.8%, were very unaware of NGOs and training opportunities, respectively. Furthermore, 75.2%, 59.2%, and 56.8% of growers did not find agricultural extension workers, neighbors, or social media effective sources of information. In contrast, 72.8%, 99.2%, and all farmers rated pesticide agents, NGOs, and training programs as very poor sources of information.