In Makueni County, Kenya, mango and citrus farmer Phyllis Nduva turned to integrated pest management (IPM) after the false codling moth devastated her orchard. In 2016, following years of ineffective pesticide use, she lost more than 60 percent of her harvest. She began adopting alternative pest control methods, including fruit fly traps, nocturnal solar traps and augmentorium bags, which contain infested fruit to interrupt pest breeding cycles. Her experience illustrates how combining preventive, biological and physical controls can reduce reliance on chemical pesticides while protecting crops and beneficial insects.

Nduva’s results have been encouraging: harvest losses have fallen to below 20 percent, pollinators have returned to her farm, and improved fruit quality has strengthened market opportunities. Most of her harvest is now purchased by exporters, and her produce commands higher prices than conventionally treated fruit. Her experience reflects broader efforts across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to adopt IPM, partly in response to stricter pesticide residue requirements in export markets. In Makueni County, Nduva has trained other farmers, with 600 in the county reported to have adopted IPM practices, although uptake remains uneven.

The resource also examines the wider challenges associated with rising pesticide use, including risks to human health, biodiversity and water quality, alongside the effects of increasing pest pressure. Upfront costs for traps and other equipment remain a barrier for smallholders, prompting some county-level support. Agricultural practitioners emphasize that effective pest management requires monitoring, field sanitation and biological and cultural controls, with chemical spraying reserved for situations where other measures are insufficient.