Usage of Mobile Phones for Crop Pest Surveillance in Kenya, Case of Uasin Gishu County

Michael Kipkorir Songol, Fredrick Mzee Awuor and Benard Magara Maake  

Department of Computing Sciences, Kisii University, Kisii, Kenya.

Corresponding Author E-mail:mkorir@yahoo.com

Abstract:

In Kenya, Uasin Gishu County is known to be one of the breadbasket counties due to high and reliable rainfall. According to the county’s integrated development plan (CIDP) for 2023-2027, the emerging of new strains of pests and diseases has been listed as one of the challenges facing agriculture sector in the county. This has made small holder farmers not able to maximize on crop yields. Therefore, crop productivity in the region is currently declining due to the use of traditional mechanisms to mitigate and control emerging crop pests and diseases, and their effects. This has further been aggravated by the effects of climate change in the region. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative based approach and targeted ninety-six small holder farmers. Questionnaires were administered using semi-structured interviews and observation. To optimize full benefits of technology, the farmers in the region need to make use of mobile phone technology which is readily available locally and used by many farmers in their communities in meeting the demands for rural livelihoods, market related strategies and collaboration efforts by use of phone related applications. There is need to support the small holder farmers to improve on crop yields by leveraging the use of mobile phone technology. This paper was guided by two objectives. To begin with, we explored how mobile phone technology has been used for crop pest surveillance in the county. Secondly, we came up with a pest surveillance model for small holder farmers to address their local needs. The findings from the study show that by use of a mobile phone technology and other related web tools, the small holder farmers can connect with other stakeholders such as the agrovets and extension workers who are critical in providing solutions affecting them on crop pest management and surveillance. It is crucial to develop and leverage on new tools and technologies to support early detection and diagnosis of crop pests and diseases before they cause adverse losses. Kenya based pest surveillance model is proposed to be used in ensuring that small holder farmers can connect with other stakeholders by use of mobile phone in facilitating exchange of information critical in pest management and disease surveillance.

Keywords:

Agriculture; Crop Pests; Diseases; Farmers; Mobile phone; Surveillance

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