Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 369, Issue 1639, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0284
Keywords
food security; pests; climate change; push-pull technology; sub-Saharan Africa
Categories
Funding
- Government of Sweden
- Government of Germany
- Government of Switzerland
- Government of Denmark
- Government of Norway
- Government of Finland
- Government of France
- Government of Kenya
- Government of UK
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation
- Kilimo Trust
- European Union
- Rockefeller Foundation
- Biovision
- McKnight Foundation
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- DFID
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK
- Biological Interactions in the Root Environment (BIRE) initiative
- BBSRC [BB/L001683/1, BBS/E/C/00005194, BB/J011371/1, BBS/E/C/00004945] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/J011371/1, BBS/E/C/00004945, BB/L001683/1, BBS/E/C/00005194] Funding Source: researchfish
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Food insecurity is a chronic problem in Africa and is likely to worsen with climate change and population growth. It is largely due to poor yields of the cereal crops caused by factors including stemborer pests, striga weeds and degraded soils. A platform technology, 'push-pull', based on locally available companion plants, effectively addresses these constraints resulting in substantial grain yield increases. It involves intercropping cereal crops with a forage legume, desmodium, and planting Napier grass as a border crop. Desmodium repels stemborer moths (push), and attracts their natural enemies, while Napier grass attracts them (pull). Desmodium is very effective in suppressing striga weed while improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and improved organic matter content. Both companion plants provide high-value animal fodder, facilitating milk production and diversifying farmers' income sources. To extend these benefits to drier areas and ensure long-term sustainability of the technology in view of climate change, drought-tolerant trap and intercrop plants are being identified. Studies show that the locally commercial brachiaria cv mulato (trap crop) and greenleaf desmodium (intercrop) can tolerate long droughts. New on-farm field trials show that using these two companion crops in adapted push-pull technology provides effective control of stemborers and striga weeds, resulting in significant grain yield increases. Effective multilevel partnerships have been established with national agricultural research and extension systems, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to enhance dissemination of the technology with a goal of reaching one million farm households in the region by 2020. These will be supported by an efficient desmodium seed production and distribution system in eastern Africa, relevant policies and stakeholder training and capacity development.
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