标题：An Assessment of the Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Integrated Pest Management Dissemination and Use: Evidence from Smallholder Cotton Farmers in the Lowveld Area of Zimbabwe
期刊名称：The Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (JSDA)
电子版ISSN：1520-5509
出版年度：2004
卷号：6
期号：2
出版社：Institute of Sustainable Development in Africa
摘要：Many technological innovations have been developed to improve agricultural productivity in Sub Sahara.
However, the adoption of these innovations has been low. Appropriate extension models are often seen
as the missing link between adoption and the achievement of productivity gains. Although, Zimbabwe’s
agriculture continues to be a vital cog in the economy, a barrage of economic ills such as high inflation
rates faces it. The cotton sub sector in particular faces many challenges, which include the skyrocketing
production costs, at the farm level. Integrated Production and Pest Management was initially touted as a
placebo to the ever-rising costs. However, its introduction was met with revulsion as farmers viewed it as
difficult to implement. Thus, appropriate extension methods had to be identified to integrate this approach
into small farmer systems. Thus, the crux of the matter in this project was to evaluate the impact of
farmer field schools, an extension methodology used to propagate IPPM among farmers. The study used
methods of analysis namely stochastic efficiency analysis, regression models, technical knowledge
scores and gross margin analysis in the evaluation process. These parameters were used as indicators of
effectiveness of this extension approach. Sanyati communal area was used as the study site as it is one
of the main cotton production belts in the country. Structured interviews, key informants and focus group
discussions were employed to collect data. Data collected was for two seasons namely 2001/02 and
2002/03 seasons. The results of the survey indicated that crop yields, cotton incomes and technical
knowledge scores for participants were greater than for non-participants. It was also shown that technical
knowledge was a significant variable in explaining cotton income variance. In addition, cotton income
variance for participants was more efficient than for non-participants, which reveals stability due to
participation. Although, farmer field schools can be considered as an extension option for small cotton
farmers largely because of their participatory nature. However, more needs to be done to appraise their
sustainability within the context of land and agrarian reforms in Zimbabwe.
关键词：Integrated Production and Pest Management, Farmer Field Schools, Socio-economics,
smallholder cotton, Zimbabwe
