Current Status of the Occurrence and Farmer Perceptions of Rice Planthopper in Cambodia

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the current status of rice plant damage caused by the brown planthopper (BPH) in Cambodia through semi-structured interviews with government officials and rice farmers from the main rice-producing province. BPH is known to cause serious damage to rice crops in many Southeast Asian countries. However, few studies exist on the damage caused by BPH in Cambodia and information on effective pest-control management remains limited. Interviews with provincial government officials revealed that BPH infestation had been recorded in 6 of 8 target provinces located near the border with the southern part of Vietnam. Of these, Takeo province was selected for a more detailed survey using semi-structured interviews with district government officials and workshop-style interviews with 416 farmers from 3 communes. These interviews indicated that damage by BPH in Cambodia was possibly attributable to BPH occurrence in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.