If you had told Alfred Bolo ten years ago he’d be protecting wasps as part of his living, he’d have laughed at the suggestion.
And yet, these days, the farmer from Kwale County in Kenya’s southernmost coastal region is checking on his beneficial insects almost as much as his papayas.
He manages a farm of more than 400 pawpaw trees – the local name for papaya – which generate hundreds of kilos each week and a significant income to support his family.
But his harvests weren’t always this plentiful.
“The papaya mealybug was a big hindrance when I started planting my fruits,” he recalls. “It affected my harvests and ultimately killed my trees.”
As the name suggests, mealybugs are tiny insects that produce a white, fluffy-looking wax. They take residence on leaves and stems in their hundreds and sometimes thousands, literally sucking the sap out of papayas and carrying various plant diseases.
Alfred is one of many farmers who have taken part in a sustainable agriculture development project to manage the papaya mealybug with nature-based methods. Farmers receive a bunch of parasitoid insects – in this case, wasps of the Acerophagus papayae family – on cards to release on their farms. The wasps then feed on the mealybugs.
“I can attest to its effectiveness in managing the pest,” says Alfred, who learned to identify and conserve the wasps on his land as part of his training.
And as an agricultural extension officer in his county, he will pass on his knowledge to others.
Not only has the parasitoid reduced the number of mealybugs, but it has also saved him a lot of money he otherwise would have spent on pesticides, he says.
Giving up pesticides, in turn, encourages the wasps and other beneficial insects to settle on his farm.
In a recent survey in his region, some 90 percent of papaya farmers said they looked favorably on wasps as natural pest control against mealybugs.
And it is appealing to consumers, too.
“My papaya is very popular because I don’t use pesticides anymore, which makes it safer for my consumers. Plus, the variety I grow is very sweet,” says Alfred.
His papaya proceeds now pay for his children’s school fees.
Besides his direct sales, he supplies local resorts and market vendors, supporting economic growth within his community.
“These wasps are now my army of soldiers,” he says, “fighting to protect my pawpaw.”
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