The ICGEB Biopesticides Group supports sustainable agriculture by promoting biopesticides and biological control agents (BCAs) as a key component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes. More specifically, the Group focusses on research, development of enabling regulatory and policy environments, capacity building, stakeholder collaboration, and training relevant to developing, commercialising, and using biopesticides and BCAs- especially as a key component of IPM.
By promoting the adoption of these eco-friendly solutions, the Group aims to reduce over-reliance on chemical pesticides, enhance biodiversity, and promote more sustainable and resilient pest control practices across agricultural systems.
Dr. Grace Kinyanjui – ICGEB AICAD Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Biopesticides Group in Cape Town, South Africa, provides further insight into sustainable crop protection and IPM strategies.
Leveraging Inclusive Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Sustainable Crop Protection
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), sustainable food production is threatened by, among other challenges, crop infestations by endemic and invasive pests. The most common agricultural pests are insects, weeds, and plant pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and plant-parasitic nematodes. The fast-changing climate in the SSA region often creates a favourable environment for some insect pests to thrive and cause severe crop damage. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, up to 40% of global crop production is lost to pests. Some of the devastating invasions in SSA include maize lethal necrosis, tomato leafminer, and fall armyworm. The current trend of increasing pest infestation could lead to even more intensive use of pesticides to protect crops and produce enough food for the exponentially growing human population.
To protect crops from pest infestations, modern-day farmers commit to routine pesticide applications throughout the cropping season, failure to which they experience huge crop losses and poor quality and unmarketable produce. Unfortunately, while proper use of pesticides increases crop productivity, the over-application of synthetic compounds as an exclusive pest control approach, as often practised in modern agriculture, is unsustainable, with several adverse effects on the environment and human health. Besides, residues of chemical pesticides in food, especially vegetables and fruits, above the set maximum residue limits could be unsafe for human consumption and prompt trade restrictions.
Overdependence on pesticides can be reduced by deliberate efforts to adopt integrated pest control approaches. An inclusive, integrated pest management (IPM) strategy encourages the combination of multiple pest control methods such as cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, use of pest-resistant varieties and judicious use of chemical pesticides. Rather than a single pest control tactic based on calendar-based applications of pesticides to only protect crops, an inclusive IPM strategy encourages farmers to take a more holistic approach that protects all the realms of health, including crops, soil, humans, animals and the environment.
A robust IPM strategy involves a series of steps: Regular monitoring is essential to detect pest problems and determine the population dynamics; Proper pest identification for suitable control; Setting action thresholds to determine the critical point at which pest control actions must be taken; Applying preventive and curative pest control methods; and, Evaluating the effectiveness of the applied methods and making the appropriate adjustments to enhance pest control. Indeed, inclusive IPM strategies advocate for proper pesticide applications and foster pesticide compatibility with biological control for synergistic and/or additive suppression of pests.
Fostering the adoption of inclusive IPM strategies in sub-Saharan Africa presents a significant opportunity to mitigate the challenges posed by pest infestations while ensuring environmental sustainability and food security. The success of IPM in modern agriculture will, however, require intentional efforts from all the relevant stakeholders (IPM researchers, governments, regulating bodies, industry and end-users) to embrace more sustainable pest control solutions.
