The production of fruit offers one of the most important opportunities for income generation, employment creation and improvement in food and nutritional security, in Africa. However, fruit production is significantly constrained by a variety of factors including insect pests, some of which are considered quarantine pests, resulting in the rejection of produce from Africa in export markets.
Most fruit growers are smallholders who often lack access to effective pest and disease control tools, forcing them to rely on synthetic insecticides, which are often ineffective, eliminate natural enemies of the pests, exceed the maximum residue level (MRL) legislation set by the European Union, and are detrimental to the health of the growers, consumers and the environment.