Small efforts can protect farmers from pesticides. Insights from Zambia
JOSEPH GOEB, Research Associate, Michigan State University VEGETABLE production, tomato production in particular, is an important source of income for many smallholder farmers in Zambia. It can provide them with gross margins that are much higher than maize, the dominant field crop. But these higher returns come with nearly ubiquitous crop loss risks from pests. Two commonly reported pests are bollworms and nematodes. These can dramatically reduce the amount of tomatoes that meet quality standards. To address this, farmers in Zambia are starting to use more pesticides. A trend that can be seen in many African countries, such as Ethiopia…