The prevalence and severity of insect pest attacks, and the
patterns of insecticide usage are presented in Table 2. All the
farmers recognized cacao mirids, with most ranking them
as prevalent or severe to very severe. Sixty percent of the
farmers recognized ants as pests of cacao while significantly
fewer recognized termites and cocoa shield bug as pests of
the crop. The various types of insecticides used by the farmers
are all moderately hazardous and belong to the WHO
Category II.15 The organochlorines (OC) used most included
lindane formulated as Gammalin 20EC, Capsitox 20EC, and
endosulfan, formulated as either Sulfonex 35EC or Endocel
35EC. This was followed by diazinon, an organophosphate
(OP) formulated as Basudin 600EC, and propoxur, a
carbamate (Unden 20EC). A majority of the farmers purchased
their insecticides from agrochemical retailing shops
while others purchased theirs from manufacturers’ agents.
Only a few purchased insecticides from other sources including
Extension Agents, Cooperative Societies, and the
Cocoa Development Unit (CDU) of the State Ministry of
Agriculture.