Overview
This project is reducing mango fruit-fly infestation and improving yield and quality through area-wide management and improved pre- and post-harvest practices, and improving production and trade.
The estimated number of mango growers in Indonesia and the Philippines is 2.3 and 2.5 million respectively. In both cases, over 70% of mango growers are resource-poor smallholders.
While the area allocated to mango production is on average less than 0.15 ha, mangoes play a significant role in supplementing on- and off-farm incomes.
Pests and diseases, along with poor crop-management practices, constantly threaten productivity and the quality of the fruit in both countries.
In Indonesia, efforts to develop and deploy area-wide management (AWM) of fruit flies in West Java will be supported and monitored by this project. Additionally, a system will be created to enable growers to shift a significant proportion of their production to the highly fruit-fly susceptible but more lucrative Gedong Gincu variety.
In the Philippines, a small pilot trial will test a simplified AWM-based system.
Expected project outcomes
- Economic benefits due to reduced fruit fry losses and improved fruit quality.
- Increased awareness among farmers of beneficial species for a range of pests, providing greater knowledge of where and when to use insecticides and the consequences of using broad spectrum compounds.
- Dissemination of new knowledge and skills to other farmers in the participating communities.
- Increased capacity to adopt best practice post-harvest handling and treatment methods.
- Increased understanding of fruit fly control strategies that are simple and inexpensive to apply.
- Health benefits due to reduced use of broad-spectrum insecticides and improved insecticide application methods in mango production.
