Perception of Leafy Vegetable Farmers on Neem Extract for the Control of Insects in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The environmental injustice inherent in conventional pests management practices are perpetrated mainly through widespread exposure to chemicals used in agricultural production. The overall ill effect of this chemical based product to the environment and human health are some of the challenges which called for attention to look for efficient and effective alternatives that are capable of replacing chemical pesticides in agricultural production. Therefore, the research determined the perception of vegetable farmers on neem extract and rate of use for the control of insect. The respondents’ level of knowledge on neem extract was high (84.9%), benefits derived from utilization of neem extract such as prevention of pest and diseases ranked highest (95.7%) and the constraint associated with the utilization of neem extract was also high (50.5%). Chi square test of relationship revealed that there was significant relationship between socio economic characteristics such as: Age (χ2= 26.668, p= 0.009), level of education (χ2 = 66.351, p = 0.007), Income (χ2 =27.443, r= 0.007), Major occupation (χ2= 28.592, r= 0.005), and Farm size (χ2=71.001, p= 0.000) and the vegetable farmers perception of neem extract. The study further revealed that respondents sources of information on neem extract (p= 0.001), benefits derived from application of neem extract (p= 0.029), and constraints associated with the utilization of neem extract (p= 0.000), had significant relationship with respondents’ perception of neem extract. The respondents had favourable perception of neem extract for the control of insects. Therefore, to sustain farmers’ interest in organic farming, the farmers should be motivated through training on application of neem extract and there should also be documentation of effectiveness and correct quantity of neem extract to use