IITA IPM project 10: Healthy vegetables through participatory integrated pest management in peri-urban gardens of Benin

Duration: 3 years (2003 –2005)

Purpose: To identify major pest and disease problems in vegetable production and to develop, in a participatory manner, affordable IPM options that reduce the use of pesticides, harmful to human health and the environment, while assuring high quality produce and income.

Background/description: In Benin, an estimated 200 ha is devoted to peri-urban gardening. A major factor driving the importance of peri-urban agriculture is an increasing marketing opportunity for a growing population of unemployed and often unskilled youths in the cities. Common crops cultivated are indigenous tropical and exotic leafy vegetables. The potential of peri-urban agriculture is, however, severely undermined by limited land, lack of improved crop varieties, soil infertility, poor water management and other agronomic practices, diverse pest constraints, and weak exploitation of commercial opportunities. The common pest problems are soil borne nematodes, seedling wilt, defoliators, leaf miners, vectors of pathogens, fruit/pod borers, and assorted diseases. Farmers’ coping strategies against pests are frequent application of foliar sprays of broad-spectrum pesticides and which remain largely ineffective. Many of the major pest problems are direct consequences of pesticide abuse that destroys indigenous biodiversity required for biological control; causes pesticide resistance in pest populations; and poses personal and environmental hazards. To address these problems, this project will harness expertise from different institutions, develop farmer-researcher-extension partnerships and increase local capacities for the further development and implementation of IPM largely through farmer/producer experimentation and training. The project will rationalise the use of pesticides and offer ecologically sound alternatives such crop-based approaches, organic fertilisers, biopesticides, and botanicals. Through participatory approaches, farmers groups will be empowered to grow healthier vegetable crops, increase yields and protect human health and biodiversity with increased market opportunities.

Agroecozone(s) and location(s): Moist savanna in Southern Benin

Expected outputs: a) The constraints and opportunities of target clients will be assessed; b) Available vegetable IPM options with proven impact elsewhere will be introduced and tested through best bet trials; c) New vegetable IPM technologies will be developed locally; d) Commercialization of vegetable IPM technologies will be initiated; e) Through training, local capacity for the further development and implementation of vegetable IPM will be developed

Potential impact and beneficiaries: The primary beneficiaries are small-scale farmers, who will benefit from a production environment with minimum insecticide use. Increased technical capacity within farming communities will allow proper harnessing of peri-urban biodiversity and integration of indigenous knowledge in technology development. The project will result in lower production costs and less harmful production systems, while maintaining high quality of produce for consumers. The project will have these impacts already during its lifetime, to be increased later as new research and its products become available

Partners: a) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) ; b) Institut National de Recherche Agricole du Bénin (INRAB) ; c) Service de la Protection des Végétaux (SPV), Bénin ; d) Université Abomey Calavi (UAC): FAST, Faculté des Sciences techniques; Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques (FSA) and National Coordinating Institue of WAFRINET – Bénin ; f) Organisation Béninoise pour la Promotion de l’Agriculture Biologique (OBEPAB, a national NGO), g) Farmer/producer groups of peri-urban vegetables in Southern Benin

Development investor(s): The Swiss Development Corporation (SDC)

IITA contact person(s)/principal investigator(s): Braima James B.James@cgiar.org and Manu Tamo M.Tamo@cgiar.org website http://www.iita.org