TITLE:
Farmer’s Perception of Cassava Mosaic Disease, Preferences and Constraints in Lupaula Province of Zambia
AUTHORS:
P. C. Chikoti, R. Melis, P. Shanahan
KEYWORDS:
Cassava Mosaic Disease, Farmer, Knowledge
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.7 No.7,
May
23,
2016
ABSTRACT: Cassava
is the principal staple root crop, providing a major source of calories for
rural and urban households in Luapula province of Zambia. However, the yields
on smallholder farms are relatively low largely due to disease infections. The
study was therefore conducted to establish farmers’ perceptions, knowledge and
management of cassava mosaic disease (CMD), which is one of the major diseases
of cassava, and to establish farmers’ preferred traits, constraints and assess
sources of cassava cuttings for planting. Focus group discussions (FGD) and
structured interviews involving 156 farmers in Mwense, Mansa and Samfya
districts were conducted from December 2008 to March 2009. Knowledge of CMD was
limited among the respondents. Only 2.4% of the respondents were aware of the
disease despite high CMD incidence in farmers’ fields. The majority of the
farmers were aware of the importance of insect pests; however, they could not
differentiate between damages due to diseases or insect pests. High yield and
early bulking traits were highly ranked. Most of the farmers planted local
landraces on small-fields (