Kenya gets new production facility to control crop pest

[NAIROBI] A facility has been launched in Kenya to aid commercial production of a protein bait to control fruit flies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

25万美元的设施是由涉及国际昆虫生理与生态学中心（ICIPE）和肯尼亚生物学有限公司的公私伙伴关系产生的，它将使小农控制破坏其水果和蔬菜的水果蝇。

Segenet Kelemu, director general of icipe, said during the launch on 29 March that fruit flies are pests of fruits and vegetables including mango and avocado that cause Africa to lose US$2 billion every year.

Smallholders in countries such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia suffer from reduced yields because of the pest.

Kelemu解释说，该设施将促进果蝇的商业生产，这是Icipe开发的蛋白质诱饵

“合成农药还消除了可以在生物学上控制害虫的天然敌人。这些化学物质的非选择性和经常使用也将health在种植者，消费者，其他有益的昆虫（例如蜜蜂）和beplay足球体育的微博in general,” Kelemu explained.

“许多果蝇物种被认为是隔离pests, leading to the rejection of horticultural products from Africa in export markets.”

Sunday Ekesi, icipe

The bait will be sold at 70 per cent less than the cost of other commercially available products, according to the icipe.

Sunday Ekesi, head of African Fruit Fly Programme at icipe, tells SciDev.Net: “Aside from directly damaging produce, many fruit fly species are considered quarantine pests, leading to the rejection ofhorticultural来自非洲出口市场的产品。透明

Ekesi explains that because protein is an important part of the diet of adult female fruit flies that destroy crops and vegetables, bait sprays are often laced with protein and一个适当的毒素cant asAway of killing female fruit flies.

根据Ekesi在2016年进行的现场抑制试验中，在果蝇治疗的田间捕获的果蝇总数为每天112.1苍蝇compar与他人的isonmanagementcontrolmethods that were only 56.8 flies per day, about 50 per cent reduction in the population of the damaging flies.

他说，ICIPE与肯尼亚生物学有限公司（KBL）之间的战略伙伴关系是开发果蝇食品诱饵设施的，这是为了减轻对农民造成的损失。

“ Icipe坚信，与我们的其他综合有害生物管理（IPM）果味苍蝇套件一起，果蝇狂热提出了减少非洲有害合成化学农药使用的最强可能性之一。这将改善种植者，消费者和环境的健康状况，也可以提高非洲水果的竞争力beplay足球体育的微博，“ 他说scidev.net。

Technical and financial support for the facility has been provided by the Government of Kenya and severalpartners including the development agencies of thegovernmentsof Germany,瑞典瑞士和英国。

ChrisKolenberg，，，，managing director, Kenya Biologics Ltd说，该设施每天有能力生产2,000升，足以满足229,000多家家庭的当地需求，这些家庭的生计取决于肯尼亚的芒果生产。

“一旦产品升级为乌干达和坦桑尼亚，额外的40万个芒果种植者将从果蝇狂热中受益。”s。

西蒙 Ngundo ，一个农民 Kenya’s Machakos County who depends on fruits for income ，，，， SA ys that most mango growers are smallholders who lack知识of, and access to, effective pest control tools.

According to Muo Kasina, agricultural entomologist at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization，，，，fruit fly pest managementisAbig problem in Africa because the time you have the fruits you donot喷pesticide。

“However, with this facility [that] will produce bait to enable control and reduction mechanism will have a positive impact to farmers，，，，透明he says.

“Farmersshould be trained on how to use the bait because having the right tools will help to tackle the problem but if it is not implemented in a wide area system where majority of farmers are involved in the management and control, it becomes non-essential,” says Kasina

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.