Knowledge, Attitude, Awareness, Communication and Practice among Farmers towards Empowerment of Natural Enemies in Rice Field in Melaka, Malaysia

Rice is a staple food in Malaysia and contributes 8.9% of the national gross domestic product in 2015. The productivity has increased from time to time in order to meet the high demand now days. The use of pesticides technology was widely used the rice production all over Malaysia due to the prompt results of combating pests. The heavy usage of pesticides has led to the pollution of the ecosystem including the beneficial insects. Decision of spraying was made by the farmer themselves which were influenced by their knowledge, attitude, awareness and communication regarding the presence of natural enemies in their rice field. However, these factors has not been measured properly in order to determine their significance towards the farmers practice. Hence, a survey has been conducted to determine the proposed measurement in rice farming area in Melaka. Farmers from three main rice farming area were interviewed using questionnaire as the main instrument. The questionnaire has been pretested prior to the actual survey. A total of 224 farmers were sampled out of 860 rice farmers’ population throughout Melaka. Data were analyzed for their central tendencies as well as significant relationship. Result showed that knowledge, attitude and communications has given a significant effect to the farmers’ practices towards enhancing the natural enemies in rice fields. However, the findings also found that the awareness level is inadequate among farmers. Therefore, there is a need for continuous awareness program by the local authorities regarding the natural enemies in the rice field in the future.