Biopesticides are mass-produced, biologically-based agents used for the control of plant pests. A recent FAO story looks at the role that biopesticides have been playing in the ongoing desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) infestation that has stripped farming families of food and income and threatened the food security of millions of people in the Horn of Africa. Biopesticides using varieties of the pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae have proven to be very effective against the desert locust. The story looks at the way the biopesticides work against the desert locust, their benefits as well as obstacles to their wider use. See http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1267098/ (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

10/04/2021