6 farmer training videos on fruit fly management

25 July 2016. With support from CORAF, and in collaboration with the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin and the University of Ghana, Agro-Insight produced a series of 6 farmer training videos on fruit fly management, which will be of great relevance to all those involved in developing fruit value chains across Africa.

• Integrated approach against fruit flies
• Collecting fallen fruit against fruit flies
• Killing fruit flies with food baits
• Mass trapping of fruit flies
• Weaver ants against fruit flies
• Promoting weaver ants in your orchard

There is a related blog story: The smell of ants

All videos are freely downloadable as video, audio or 3gp file for mobile phone viewing from the Access Agriculture website, and come with one-page, farmer-friendly fact sheets that contain contact information of scientists involved.

These videos will become available in African languages in the near future.

Related PAEPARD projects:

ColeACP is seeking funding under the private sector Users' led programme (ULP) of PAEPARD in order to support research on mango residues / mango waste to combat the fruit fly.

• This includes research on the use of the kernel for cosmetics, bio gas, livestock feed and fertilizer. 
• In particular research funding is needed on the processing of mangoes infested with fruit fly larvae which may increase the protein value of poultry feed when transformed properly.
• Creating a revenue from waste may be a crucial incentive for farmers to collect infested mangoes.
• See presentation of Dr Timbilfou KIENDREBEOGO, Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Researches (INEAR), Department of Livestock Productions (DLP), Non Ruminants Program (NRP), Burkina Faso (Member of the ULP ColeACP consortium: Mango waste for feed): Use of production and transformation of the waste of mangoes for food of poultry in Burkina Faso.

ECOWAS is funding a Fruit Fly Project in 8 countries (including Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali etc.) with a total amount of 23,312,000 USD for 3 years. Professor Kwame Afreh-Nuamah of the School of Agriculture, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, is the Chairman of the Fruit Fly National Committee of Ghana (and member of the PAEPARD and FARA/SSA-CP supported Citrus Innovation Platform of Ghana

CORAF/WECARD has funded the ARD component (research) of the Fruit Fly Project with 2.5 million USD. The project is coordinated by Dr Antonio Sinzogan from the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. The Ghana country chapter is led by Dr Maxwell K. Billah of University of Ghana. The above mentioned videos are one of the outcomes for this research project.