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Training mango growers in fruit fly control

Benin
Sustainable agriculture
25.05.2022
Most mango orchards in Benin are exposed to attacks by the fruit fly and other insects that destroy mango trees and cause production losses, diminishing commercial success. To avoid these attacks, the PASDeR programme supported the National Federation of Mango Producers (FeNaProM) in organising training on fruit fly control techniques. This training aims to considerably reduce post-production losses in order to improve producers' income.
The trainer, Rosie Wargui, exchanging with the producers at the Copargo assembly site.
An artisanal trap for fruit flies with the Timaye

124 mango producers attended this training, which took place at five different sites. Rosine Wargui, agronomist and specialist in the protection of perennial crops, provided producers with skills to be able to recognise the main species of fruit flies, their reproductive cycle and the various methods for monitoring orchards.

"This training enabled me to understand the process of fly reproduction. Indeed, it is the female flies that bite the mango and lay their eggs in the pulp. These eggs then give rise to larvae which, as soon as they hatch, feed on the pulp of the fruit for several days before leaving the fruit to bury themselves in the ground and transform into pupae. Each pupa will then produce an adult fly. I am committed to passing on all the skills I have acquired to the members of my cooperative."
Mohamed Dankoro, a member of the Municipal Union of Producers (UCP) of Sinendé in central north Benin
A fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) in the trainer's palm
Mangoes infested by fruit flies

The tools and advice given during the training enabled the mango producers to identify the methods of controlling fruit flies: orchard maintenance and hygiene, mass trapping, spot treatment (application of poisoned bait), biological control, and integrated control.

"It gave me confidence to practise making and setting homemade traps, preparing a bait solution for fruit flies and applying it to the trees. I am now able to recognise harmful flies in my orchard. I will therefore be able to use these application techniques and precise dosages through which I can improve my economic performance. I would like to thank the trainer for her advice, FeNaProM for initiating this training, the PASDeR programme for its technical and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for its financial support", says Jeanette NATTA, a member of the Municipal Union of Producers of Natitingou (north-west Benin).

The National Federation of Mango Producers (FeNaProM) is the only umbrella organisation at the national level that brings together socio-professional organisations specialised in mango production. It has 24 communal cooperatives with more than 700 mango producers in the communities of Collines, Borgou, Alibori, Atacora and Donga.

This training will contribute to a national production of good quality mango that meets the market demand. Its producers will be able to meet the government's strategy, which consists in favouring the export of Beninese mango to the countries of the North.

The Rural Economic Development Support Programme (PASDeR) is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Swisscontact-LARES consortium.

2020 - 2024
Benin
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
Rural Economic Development Support Programme PASDER
The four departments in the northern part of the country (Alibori, Borgou, Atacora and Donga) cover almost three quarters of the country's surface area and are home to just over a third (33.9%) of the population. According to the Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.485, Benin will rank 167th out of 187 countries in 2016. Poverty has increased at...
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