IITA develops bio-pesticide for moth control in Africa

LAGOS, Sept. 24 -- The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has developed a bio-pesticide for the control of a moth, which ravages African cabbage, the institute has announced.

The institute said in a statement reaching hereon Thursday that the Beauveria Bassiana developed by scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture records a huge success in the control of the pest.

"Resource-poor farmers said the bio-control method has proved effective in controlling insect pest that has devastated both smallholder and large scale cabbage farms in Africa," the statement said.

The institute said cabbages were among the most important vegetables in Africa, especially in Benin Republic, mostly among lower income farmers.

"The importance of this vegetable is probably greater as it acts as a stream of income among farmers most affected by poverty, including small farmers, youth and most especially, women who paradoxically play an important role in agricultural production," the statement added.

Eaten daily, either raw in salads, steamed, boiled or fried, cabbages serve as important cash-generating crops, it said.

According to the statement, in spite of the importance of the crop, destructions of cabbage farms by moth had forced thousands of farmers in West Africa to abandon the production for other crops.

"The situation is worsened by the high costs associated with synthetic pesticide that serves as chemical control option," it said.

It added that chemical control of the pest on a global scale cost about one billion U.S. dollars annually with a package of health and environmental risks, which include pollution, destruction/death of non-target, including useful insects and, therefore, the reduction of biodiversity.

"But the good news is that the bio-pesticide, B. bassiana, in an integrated pest management approach offers a solution to sustainable control of the moth," said the statement.

"Majority of farmers who abandoned cabbage cultivation for other crops are now requesting the bio-pesticide to make a come back but the problem is the availability of the product," the statement added.