Study Shows Benefits of Push-Pull Agriculture for Africa
January 11, 2008| |
A study conducted by the Rothamsted Research shows that push-pull approach on agriculture has a great potential of saving African crops from pests. Push-Pull approach entails mixing, in the field, crops that repel insects (push) and diversionary trap plants (pull) that attract the pests. In areas where the approach has been adopted, like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the profit a farmer can produce per hectare has increased by between three and four times the amount generated by standard practices. Farmers in these regions do not have the resources or predictable rainfall needed to invest in fertilizers and pesticides.
More than 10,000 subsistence households in Eastern Africa have adopted the approach, but the overall proportion is still small. Lead researcher John Pickett pointed out that if more subsistence farmers used 'push-pull' approaches, there could be massive improvements in the amount of food they could grow. The research team is currently promoting the approach in West Africa.
For more information visit the British Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) website at http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2008/080108_pests.html
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