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Date released
27 March 2025

Mango farmers in Indonesia and the Philippines are enjoying the fruits of their labour, following the success of a 5-year ACIAR-funded project that more than doubles their income by improving fruit quality and quantity through the use of simple and inexpensive methods to reduce fruit fly infestations.

ACIAR Research Program Manager, Horticulture, Dr Sandra McDougall, said the project is in line with ACIAR priorities to improve livelihoods of local fruit farmers and deliver safe, nutritious food to homes across Indonesia and the Philippines. She said improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of fruit is a key focus for ACIAR in the region.

Fruitful results in Indonesia

In Indonesia, mango production dominates resource-poor smallholders. Yet, fruit flies remain major pests that limit mango production, quality and export potential.

‘Mango farmers in Indonesia are losing between 20-50% of their harvest due to fruit-fly infestation,’ said Mr Stefano De Faveri, Principal Entomologist at the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and project leader.

The project worked in several villages in West Java synonymous for their lucrative, yet highly-susceptible to fruit fly, mango variety, ‘Gedong Gincu’.

Since the project’s implementation, fruit quality has improved, and farmers at the treated sites now typically earn more than double their previous income. Following implementation they can sell fruit at A$3.3 per kilogram, instead of A$1.2. ‘Mango farmers are now able to produce better products that are sought by traders and markets,’ Mr De Faveri said.

Gedong gincu mangoes
Fruit-fly free gedong gincu mangoes harvested at their red blush phase from an ACIAR-supported, AWM-treated farm in Mekarjaya Village.
Angling Darma farmers at Krasak Village
Angling Darma farmers at Krasak Village mango farm—Mr Dul, Waryana and Sunarta—say that the ACIAR-funded project has helped them increase profits significantly.
green mangoes
Gedong gincu mangoes at their green phase hang on a tree in West Java.
Fruit fly trap
Fruit-fly trap installed at an AWM-treated mango farm in Krasak Village.
Mango farmers
Mango farmers in Mekarjaya Village, West Java Province, Indonesia with fruit-fly free gedong gincu mangoes produced with the support of ACIAR.

ACIAR partnered with a number of stakeholders to implement the project, including the Agricultural Instrument Standardization Agency (BSIP), Directorate General of Horticulture, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and Universitas Gadjah Mada. 

Before the project, farmers controlled fruit-fly populations by spraying a cocktail of pesticides. This method was harmful and expensive. It was applied by individual farmers and did not stop fruit flies coming from neighbouring farms. However, through a series of hands-on training and webinars that started in 2019, the project introduced farmers to area-wide management (AWM). This approach is effective, can cover a much wider area and is low in cost.

Farmers learned how to reduce and control fruit-fly populations by combining several techniques in a coordinated approach. The techniques included hanging wooden blocks, weekly protein baiting and sanitation. A monitoring program and reporting to a central point was also implemented to measure the success of the program.

After six months of implementation, fruit-fly populations were maintained below 1 fly per trap per day (FTD) and fruit infestation rates to below 0.5%. As a comparison, fruit-fly populations at conventionally treated farms just a few kilometres away were as high as 800 FTD and infestation rates up to 60%.

Mr Elvan, leader of the APMK mango farmers group in Mekarjaya Village, said he is grateful for the financial and social impact the project has made. With improved fruit quality, farmers can now sell their mangoes to traders at a higher price. Shipments have also been exported to the Middle East for the first time.

Mr Waryana, leader of the Angling Darma mango farmers group in Krasak Village, said the AWM technique has increased profits significantly, and mangoes from the farm are now being prepared for exports to Japan. Due to the project making the initial connection, farmers can now also sell their product directly to the modern supermarket chain AEON.

Meanwhile, Mr Hendrik, leader of the Sukamulya mango farmers group and owner of Kopi Gincu, said the abundance of high-quality harvest enables farmers in Sedong Lor Village to diversify and sell whole mangoes directly to customers from the farm, minimising waste when preparing the fruit for processing.

Improved post-harvest gains in the Philippines

In the Philippines, improved fruit bagging practices have demonstrated that fruit fly infestation can be reduced significantly, lessening the need for an overall AWM approach for fruit flies.

Taiwan paper fruit bag
Improved fruit bagging practices with the use of Taiwan paper fruit bag (instead of newspapers or ordinary paper) have demonstrated that fruit fly infestation can be reduced significantly in the Philippines.

The project introduced the use of the Taiwan fruit protection bag, which is sturdier than the standard newspaper bag that many Filipino farmers use to bag the mango fruits. Newspaper bags easily tear and cannot be properly sealed, which exposes the mangoes to fruit fly infestation, causing most fruits to fall to the ground and leading to more production losses.

Dr Emma Ruth Bayogan, Professor of Horticulture, University of the Philippines Mindanao, stated ‘With improved bagging practices, Filipino farmers observed better fruit retention and reduced fruit fly infestation and disease incidence. Combining improved bagging with hot water alone or hot water prochloraz treatment resulted in better quality fruit and longer shelf life, improved marketability (52%) at 10 days after treatment due to delayed onset of disease. The use and reuse of Taiwan bags also resulted in lower field pollution and less waste due to the reuse of bags at least two times.’

Sustaining the project

Mr De Faveri said relevant Indonesian government agencies have extended support to link farmers with corporates to supply protein baits that are more accessible, looked at the feasibility of different sites to take on the program and upscale it to cover different commodities and areas. Ms Nelly Saptayanti from the Directorate General of Horticulture stated that her department is planning to expand the program to Sumedang, West Java; Wonosobo, Central Java; and Karo, North Sumatra, and include salacca and citrus.

Mr Stefano De Faveri and Mekarjaya Village Mr Elvan
Leader of APMK mango farmers group in Mekarjaya Village Mr Elvan (right) holding an AWM implementation manual produced from the ACIAR-supported project with project leader Mr Stefano De Faveri to celebrate the conclusion of the project.

Dr Affandi from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) echoed similar optimism. Thanks to the project, he said trained mango farmers now have the skills and confidence to help fellow mango farmers facing the same challenges.

‘Our “champion farmers” now often get invited by neighbouring regencies and national-level agencies to serve as expert speakers on how to tackle fruit flies in mango, allowing the project’s success to be replicated by other mango-producing areas in Indonesia,’ Dr Affandi said.

A user-friendly manual produced from the project is also expected to be translated to the local language of Indonesian to allow for a wider distribution.

The project also highlighted that involving women in decision-making can improve their families’ income and helped them identify the types of capacity building women need to further promote their families’ welfare from mango production.

Area-wide management mangoes contribute to wider agenda

With the success of the AWM project, mango farmers in both Indonesia and the Philippines now have better understanding of pests and pesticides, which increased their capacity to adopt best practices and improved safety measures.

Area wide management mangoes manual
Gedong gincu mangoes and the AWM implementation manual produced from the project, distributed to local farmers and project partners.

‘To produce and spray pesticides, you create greenhouse gases, and this project reduces the amount of pesticides used on mangoes,’ Mr De Faveri said.

By offering an alternative to harmful sprays to reduce infestation and maintain fruit-fly populations, ‘The research demonstrates Australia’s support for the region’s improved food security and climate mitigation practices,’ Dr McDougall added.

Mr De Faveri added that undertaking the project on a multilateral scale has helped the research team to better understand the unique challenges faced by mango farmers in Indonesia and the Philippines, and how existing and future research can help provide solutions. It also helps Australia look at different options of protein baiting and improve lures as solutions to its own mango problems and it provides critical information for preparation of contingency plans for exotic fruit-fly species not present in Australia.

Dr McDougall said knowledge gained via the project can benefit Australian industries that rely on fruit production. ‘Work that decreases fruit-fly populations and infestations can help improve Australian fruit quality and ultimately reduce food loss,’ she said.

ACIAR Project: ‘Development of area-wide management approaches for fruit flies in mango for Indonesia, Philippines, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region’ (HORT/ 2015/ 043)

Biosecurity
Fruit fly
Insect pests
Livelihoods
Smallholders
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