Banana failure among smallholder farmers resulting from high incidence of banana weevils and
other pests and diseases has resulted into a poverty trap for farmers, food insecurity and reduced
economic growth among the banana producing communities. Use of ethnomedicinal products can
offer alternative to farmers who cannot afford to buy the expensive synthetic agro-chemicals
which are also known to be a health and environmental hazard. The study investigated the extent
of farmers’ use; the farmers’ perceived effectiveness of ethnomedicinal product and weevils’,
percentage coefficient of infestation in plantations where ethnomedicinal products are used and
where they are not. Quantitative and qualitative experimental and social economic approaches
were used. Results indicated that most farmers (50.4%) still rely on cultural practices to control
banana pests and diseases; 30.6% use ethnomedicinal products and 19% that use synthetic
pesticides. It was also established that women were more likely to use cultural practices and
ethnomedicinal products on a subsistence level of production and men were more likely to use
chemicals on commercial scale. Use of ethnomedicinal products increased with the level of
education, although people with tertiary education tended not to use the products.