Potato is an important food security crop in Kenya. High prevalence of potato viruses is one of the major causes of low potato yields. Implementation of effective virus management strategies requires information on farmers’ perceptions and practices on virus epidemiology and control. To better understand farmers’ knowledge and practices in virus control and set possible pathways for intervention, a household survey involving 147 respondents was conducted in two major potato-growing regions in Kenya. Lack of sufficient technical information on potato virus symptoms, vectors and modes of transmission was found to be the major hindrance to farmers’ efforts towards virus control. A spider diagram approach was therefore used to determine the aspect of virus control that required the highest prioritization for immediate intervention by policy makers. Use of virus-resistant cultivars was found to require the most urgent attention compared to other aspects of virus control and was expected to have greater impact in lowering virus prevalence. This study showed that enhancing farmer knowledge needs to be prioritised as this is a key determinant of the success of the virus control strategy to be selected for implementation.

马铃薯是肯尼亚重要的粮食安全作物。马铃薯病毒的高流行是马铃薯低产量的主要原因之一。实施有效的病毒管理策略需要有关农民对病毒流行病学和控制的认识和实践的信息。为了更好地了解农民在病毒控制方面的知识和做法，并为干预提供了可能的途径，在肯尼亚的两个主要马铃薯种植区进行了一项涉及147位受访者的家庭调查。人们发现缺乏有关马铃薯病毒症状，媒介和传播方式的足够技术信息，这是阻碍农民努力控制病毒的主要障碍。因此，使用蜘蛛图方法来确定病毒控制的方面，这需要决策者立即进行干预的最高优先级。与病毒控制的其他方面相比，发现抗病毒品种的使用需要最紧迫的关注，并有望在降低病毒流行率方面产生更大的影响。这项研究表明，需要优先考虑增强农民的知识，因为这是选择实施病毒控制策略成功与否的关键因素。