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Project Overview

So, what’s the problem

Insect pests cause millions of dollars’ worth of crop losses throughout the world, and Pakistan is no exception. They can harm crops both before and after they’re harvested in storage, and together, they are causing huge losses.

Most farmers in Pakistan are dependent on toxic chemicals in order to tackle these notorious insect pests and these are often applied unselectively. This raises both environmental and human health concerns. However, a system that integrates current pest management technologies with a sustainable approach will have the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses.

Biological control is a sustainable way of tackling pests on an area wide basis. This entails identifying an insect pest exactly in order to find an appropriate and sustainable solution for it. This method reduces pest infestation and, because it doesn’t use toxic chemicals, it ensures that people have safe and healthy food to eat. Not only this, good pest free crops, without heavy pesticide residues, will open new export markets for Pakistan’s agricultural products.

Aflatoxins can also be a huge problem in improperly stored crops and produce poisonous carcinogens.

What is this project doing?

To help solve Pakistan’s agricultural pest problem, the CABI team aim to implement a biological control programme. It will focus on the most destructive insects and in turn, will reduce Pakistan’s food losses. If successful, this programme will mitigate the impact of pre and post-harvest pests of rice and horticultural crops.

We will need to improve the technical capacity of national partners to survey pests and to develop and deploy biocontrol agents.

We will also need to analyse and generate actionable information in order to regulate aflatoxins in Pakistan’s fresh produce supply chains.

We will also need to improve the capacity of plant health regulators who certify Pakistan’s agricultural commodity exports.

In order to do this we will need to mass rear and find ways to conserve important biocontrol agents of papaya mealy bug, apple pests, fruit flies and the giant mealy bug. The team will establish biological control laboratories and in Natural Enemy Field Reservoirs (NEFRs) in Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit and Skardu.

The CABI team will perform regular on-farm releases of biocontrol agents, and work with farmers to ensure they, and representatives of allied government and private sector agencies, understand the theory of insect biological control and know how to establish and maintain NEFRs and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) compliance in rice and fresh produce supply chains.