Rice insect pest management in selected rice irrigation schemes in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

This study was conducted in five randomly selected rice schemes in Morogoro region to obtain information on farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practice in respect to management strategies undertaken for controlling insect pests both in rice fields and stores as an aid to reduce crop loss. A total of 150 farmers were randomly selected from 5 villages (30 respondents per village) and interviewed using semi structured questionnaires. Each village represented only one rice scheme. The study reveals that 61.3% of farmers cultivate rice under 0.5 to 1 acres showing that the crop is grown largely by small scale farmers. About 94.4% of farmers reported to have faced insect pest problems in rice fields with no farmer reported damage in store. It was reported that 82% of farmers control insect pests in their rice field when they notice their presence. Most of farmers (84%) used synthetic insecticides where some of them do nothing and others use non-chemical method. However, among those farmers who use pesticides, majority (83%) of them reported that they have never attained any training on the proper handling and application of chemicals suggesting a need for trainings to farmers on how to handle pesticides. Key words: Rice, scheme, insect, management.