For a good result in fruit vegetable production, pest control is a major task. Even though efforts are being intensified to reduce the amount of chemical used in the control of pests through the introduction of integrated pest management, pesticides use in fruit vegetable production has been reported to be shoot up dramatically. Therefore, the study is based on the economics analysis of pesticide use in fruit vegetable production among farming household in Kwara State. A two-stage sampling was used and the analytical tools used include the descriptive statistics, gross margin, T-test, average treatment effect and three point likert type scale. The result revealed that fruit vegetable production has a gross margin of ₦953,244.4/ha for pesticide users and ₦ 154,554.5/ha for non-pesticide users. It was revealed that pesticides users produces more crops than non-pesticides users. The major factors affecting pesticide usage are farm size, pesticide training and farm income. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that pesticide usage is profitable in fruit vegetable production in Kwara State. The study therefore recommends that agricultural associations should organize trainings for fruit vegetable farmers on the usage of pesticide and methods to protect them from its harmful effect.
Key words: Pesticide, Fruit vegetable, Production, Gross margin, Kwara State.
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