Village forecasts combat armyworm plagues in eastern and southern Africa. Validated RNRRS Output.
Abstract
This is one of 280 summaries describing key outputs from the projects run by DFID's 10-year Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) programmes.
Associated with Projects R8407, R7966 and R6762. Villages in eastern and southern Africa now make their own forecasts of armyworm outbreaks. The low-cost system—using a single trap to catch armyworm moths and a rain gauge—means that farmers no longer depend on warnings from central pest offices. Warnings from central offices were often too late and too general to be useful. Villages now organise the forecasts themselves. They decide who will be trained to use the equipment and work out the forecast from the moth catch and rainfall data, and who will warn everyone. The self-contained forecasts, proven to be accurate four times out of five in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya, help farmers prepare for outbreaks and prevent damage to their crops.
The CD has the following information for this output: Description, Validation, Current Situation, Environmental Impact. Attached PDF (10 pp.) taken from the CD.
Citation
CPP42, New technologies, new processes, new policies: tried-and-tested and ready-to-use results from DFID-funded research, Research Into Use Programme, Aylesford, Kent, UK, ISBN 978-0-9552595-6-2, p 48.