Effectiveness of Eco-Friendly Management Practices in the Management of Termite Infestation in Semi-Arid Areas of Uganda: A Case Study of Nakasongola District

The problem of termite infestations is an alarming issue that negatively impacts agriculture and rural livelihoods in semi-arid areas of Uganda, with Nakasongola District among the areas severely affected within the cattle corridor. Although considerable damage, accounting for about 30% crop destruction worth UGX 200 million per year, has been reported in terms of termite infestation, the current measures used for the prevention and control of termites have been largely chemically-based approaches that have proven to be ineffective. In this research paper, we examine the effectiveness of five eco-friendly practices: cultural, physical, biological, botanical, and integrated pest management in the management of termite infestation in semi-arid areas of Nakasongola District, Uganda. A cross-sectional survey design combining both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. The data were collected from 264 respondents using structured questionnaires and from 16 key informant interviews. The analysis used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression in SPSS version 23. Results revealed that cultural control practices have the strongest and most significant influence on reducing termite infestations (β = 0.356, p < 0.01), followed by the botanical control practices (β = −0.220, p < 0.01) when practiced. Biological control practices have a significant positive relationship (β = 0.245, p < 0.01), despite the difficulties faced during implementation under semi-arid conditions, followed by integrated pest management with a weak positive effect (β = 0.124, p < 0.05). The physical control practices had no significant influence (β = −0.015, p = 0.832). The five control practices, taken together, accounted for 32.4% of termite infestation management (R² = 0.324). The study concludes that cultural and botanical methods are the most viable eco-friendly approaches for managing termite infestation in semi-arid areas, while physical controls are ineffective as standalone interventions. Biological and integrated pest management methods require improved training, timing, and monitoring to deliver intended outcomes.

cultural control practices; biological control practices; botanical control practices; integrated pest management

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