Pest identification and curative methods to secure fields

More than sixty market gardeners from various localities in the Niger valley in northern Benin took part in a two-day training course, both theoretical and practical, on pest identification, management and control methods, to protect their fields from insects that damage their crops. Training was carried out by experts from CIRAD, working on the safe climate-resilient crop production and post-harvest practices component of the SafeVeg project.

On the eve of the training course, the team of scientists visited several farms in Guéné and Monkassa, around ten kilometers from Malanville, to inspect and take pest samples, with sound advice given to many farmers.

Looking for insect pests in northern Benin, and using magnifying glasses to identify them

The theory took place in one of the Agence Territoriale de Développement Agricole’s large conference rooms, and included explanatory projections on each pest’s characteristics, behavior and habits, shown in close-up to facilitate identification. There was also a focus on pest predators being farmers’ friends, and are not to be confused with pests. The practical phase occurred in okra fields. The practical exercise consisted in going ‘pest hunting’ to identify the insects studied earlier in the classroom.

At the end of the two-day training course, and after several trips back and forth between the training room and the fields, farmers in northern Benin are now able to take better care of their crops and know when and how to carry out the necessary treatments without abusing chemical products that are harmful to plants, crops and consumers alike. And, the farmers vowed to become trainers themselves, and teach fellow farmers who did not take part.

“We are happy and satisfied and thank the donors who made this training possible. We were helpless in the face of these pests, which gave us cold sweats every season. Imagine we invest millions of francs in this activity and are never sure of recovering the funds injected because of these pests. With the lessons we’ve learned in two days, I’m confident and reassured that from now on, it won’t be pests that dictate to us.”

Pest and disease identification in an okra field in Guéné, northern Benin

Azaroutou IBOULOU, President of women’s farmer cooperative, Guéné

SafeVeg is implemented by the World Vegetable Center in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, in partnership with WUR and CIRAD, and the Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA) in Burkina faso, and the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER) in Mali. This research was carried out with funding from the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands through the project Safe locally produced vegetables for West Africa’s consumers (SafeVeg) – ID-4000003936, part of the DeSIRA program). The views expressed in this document can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.