CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SERIES – PEST CONTROL ON OUR FARMS by Mr. Eno Peter

• Types of pests
• Effect of pests on our farms
• Methods of pest control
• Importance of pest control

What Is A Farm Pest?

A Farm Pest is any organism that causes economic damage to our farm resulting in poor yields and unhealthy growth to our crops. They could be plants or animals and also micro organisms.

Farm pests are attracted to the farm to feed on leaves, crops, roots and also on our animals.

They attack both plants and animals on our farms.

Examples of Farm Pests

• Rodents – Grass cutters
• Birds
• Nematodes (round worms)
• Grass hoppers
• Ticks
• Spiders
• Termites
• Elephant grass and other kinds of weeds.

Effects Of Pests On Our Farms

Pest are known to be destructive to crops. A large number of farms are destroyed by locusts leading to economic lost.

Pest can also be carriers of bacteria and fungi which is detrimental to human health. It is also advised to wear boots on the farm where these fungi or bacteria can not penetrate the feet of the farmer.

Pest like leech can also be destructive to our aquatic farms. It is important to watch out for invasion by such pets in our fish ponds.

Cattles are also attracted by ticks in the barn. Ticks feeds on our birds in our poultry and also on our rabbits and cattles as well as pigs. They affect the health of these animals.

Methods Of Pest Control

Physical Method: We can use TRAPS to control rodents on our farm. This a traditional means of pest control. It’s an age long practice.

We can also use SCARECROW. Make a statue like a human with rags, pieces of clothes and some raffia to look like a human in the farm. It scares away birds. Pests attack our seeds in the farm. It also scare away rodents especially when there is a movement of the scarecrow aided by the wind.

Biological Method: Use DUCKS and CHICKEN to control caterpillar, Grass hoppers and locust on the farm which destroy the leaves on our farms. They are smart at picking up these insects including termites in the farm. It serves as a form of protein to the chicken. This is a common practice in large farms where people rare birds like duck and also grow crops.

Once in a while, the ducks are released into the farm to eat up the pest. You can also use your local chicken where you don’t have ducks. These birds can be trained to understand their roles in pest control in the farm.

Chemical Methods: The use of pesticide, fungicides and other chemicals on the farm is a common practice today . It is easy and convenient for large scale farming. But at the same time be selective on the kind of chemical used on your crops because of the health implications. We try as much as possible to teach “organic farming” for Sustainable Agriculture practices.

Importance Of Pest Control

• It prevents economic lost on the farm
• It helps to promote the health of our crops.
• Protects the farmers from bacterial and fungi in the farm
• Serves as foods to our birds due to the Symbiotic Relationship between the farm and the birds.

Note: There are crops that are highly attracted by pests. Examples are;

• Maize, they attract caterpillar and grass hoppers. They feed on the leaves
• Cassava Stem attracts a lot of termites and black ants. They feed from the liquid of the stems.
• Root Crops attracts rodents like Grass cutters.

Visit your nearest AGRO SHOP and ask for some PEST CONTROL CHEMICAL for your farm to prevent harvest lost and also disease that may affect your crops.

©️Mr. Eno Peter

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