BACKGROUNDAgricultural pesticide use in sub‐Saharan Africa has doubled over the past three decades; with a greater relative increase for fungicides. As pesticide inputs continues to rise, so does the potential for the development of resistance. Here, we report on a survey conducted to understand pesticide resistance awareness, pesticide use knowledge and practices of growers and agricultural extension officers (AEOs) in the cereals growing‐belt of Northern Ghana, with emphasis on fungicides. The results may inform development of strategies for improving pesticide literacy including resistance awareness, extension services, and crop protection outcomes.RESULTSThe survey revealed a low level of pesticide use knowledge for AEOs and growers. This was more so for growers with low education, predominantly women. Education level (and indirectly gender) influenced perceived effectiveness of fungicides and levels of adoption of cultural and agrochemical best practices. Only 28% of growers and 11% of AEOs practice crop and fungicide rotations, respectively. More than half (53%) of the respondents indicated that fungicides used in Northern Ghana are not effective.CONCLUSIONGiven the low level of pesticide literacy of AEOs and growers, training programs on best practice on the use of pesticides, with targeted initiatives for female growers would improve crop protection outcomes, and safety. The limited adoptions of crop rotation and repeated use of fungicides with the same active ingredients, along with >50% of respondents reporting ‘fungicides not working’ suggest the potential presence of fungicide resistance cases in growers' fields in the Northern region of Ghana. Further work is needed to determine the incidence of resistance in the region. It is recommended that a key policy priority should focus on understanding broader agrochemical use practices, crop losses and household‐level food security in the presence of resistance risks.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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加纳北部谷物种植者和推广人员对杀菌剂使用的了解和看法

背景 过去三十年来，撒哈拉以南非洲地区的农业农药使用量增加了一倍；杀菌剂的相对增加幅度更大。随着农药投入量的持续增加，产生抗药性的可能性也在增加。在此，我们报告了一项调查，旨在了解加纳北部谷物种植带的种植者和农业推广官员 (AEO) 的农药抗性意识、农药使用知识和实践，重点是杀菌剂。结果可能为制定提高农药知识的策略提供信息，包括抗药性意识、推广服务和作物保护成果。结果调查显示，AEO 和种植者的农药使用知识水平较低。对于受教育程度较低的种植者（主要是女性）来说更是如此。教育水平（以及间接的性别）影响了杀菌剂的有效性感知以及文化和农用化学品最佳实践的采用程度。只有 28% 的种植者和 11% 的 AEO 分别实行作物轮作和杀菌剂轮作。超过一半 (53%) 的受访者表示，加纳北部使用的杀菌剂效果不佳。 结论 鉴于 AEO 和种植者的农药知识水平较低，应针对女性种植者开展有关农药使用最佳实践的培训计划将改善作物保护成果和安全。作物轮作的有限采用和重复使用具有相同活性成分的杀菌剂，以及超过 50% 的受访者报告“杀菌剂不起作用”，表明加纳北部地区种植者的田地中可能存在杀菌剂抗药性病例。需要进一步开展工作来确定该地区抵抗的发生率。建议关键政策优先事项应侧重于了解更广泛的农用化学品使用实践、作物损失和存在抗药性风险的家庭粮食安全。本文受版权保护。版权所有。