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Farmers face many challenges and constraints in terms of agricultural inputs. Synthetic pesticides are often difficult for farmers to access or afford and may have low community acceptance. Moreover, knowledge of how to properly and safely apply synthetic inputs is often limiting or confusing. For these reasons, many communities choose natural over synthetic options for managing pests. Options using natural and local ingredients include bio-pesticides that famers make on site. Benefits of bio-pesticides include the potential for increased resilience to pests and nutrient deficiencies and a sense of empowerment as farmers solve challenges with creative and sometimes simple, on-farm derived techniques that are less costly than synthetic inputs. ECHO resources and training focus on creation and use of bio-pesticide products that are appropriate for the context in which they are used and that effectively maintain soil and crop health.



  1. 2024-08-01 Biopesticides are one alternative to synthetic pesticides that farmers can utilize as part of an integrated pest management plan.Natural pesticides are made from plant extracts (leaves, fruit, hulls, seeds, etc.) and are accessible to small-scale producers. Certain plants, minerals, or organic...
  2. Key Resource OISAT is an information management concept on non-chemical pest management in the tropics comprising two components: OISATInfo is a web-based information tool offering trainers, extension workers and farmers a quick access to up-to-date information for their work and for organizing agricultural...
  3. 2023-02-14 Theme Produire et consommer bio
  4. 2023-07-13 Millipede species can cause severe damage to various crops. We have heard reports of heavy damage from West Africa, but also more recently from Uganda. Effective chemical controls are expensive and difficult to obtain for many rural farmers. Thus, we are trying to identify locally available...
  5. 2022-10-03 Tithonia is known for its high nitrogen content, palatability as a livestock forage, and rapid growth throughout the tropics and subtropics. Network member Tim Tanner has also experimented with using it, as well as neem, to control termites before planting trees.
  6. Poster - How to make a Natural Pesticide. Some natural pesticide ingredients and the pests they repel. Kilomohai Training Materialshttp://www.kilimohai.org/kilimohai/training-materials
  7. 2020-06-22 This booklet tells you how to use red chilli peppers to help keep pests away from your crops. Taken from "Footsteps 54" - the literacy publication of Tear Fund, used with kind permission. Illustrations on pages 4, 5 and cover courtesy ofClipArtEtc. This edition published in the United Kingdom in...
  8. Naturally occurring insecticidal compounds can be extracted from neem seeds and sprayed onto crops to prevent pest insect damage. This 2 minute and 33 second animation explains how to sort neem fruits, dry them, remove their outer shells, sort the seeds, grind them, mix the powder in water,...
  9. Key Resource 1984-04-20 This technical note was published in the early 80's when there were relatively few sources of information on, or seed for the the neem tree. In recent years much progress has been made in each of these areas. The information contained in this technical note is still quite valuable. A good source...
  10. 2023-03-28 Few things are as devastating as surveying your full garden one day only to wake up the following morning to find every leaf stripped from your crops with nothing but a trail of a few semi-circular fragments of your precious plants leading away from your garden. I am not sure there is any other...
  11. Key Resource 2022-05-20 The current global situation calls for a multi-pronged approach to pest management. To be widely applicable, this approach must provide farmers with options to control pests at various scales of production (from small farms to very large operations) with a diversity of resources. Integrated pest...
  12. 2016-02-02 In this talk, Kittichai gives an overview of integrated pest management (IPM) and one IPM technique, the use of fungi beuveria as a natural insecticide. Kittichai shares how beuveria can be replicated and used in community development projects
  13. 2020-01-01 The global biodiversity and climate emergencies demand transformative changes to human activities. For example, food production relies on synthetic, industrial and non-sustainable products for managing pests, weeds and diseases of crops. Sustainable farming requires approaches to managing these...
  14. 1996-01-19 Information about controlling cassava mealybug (Phenacoccus manihoti) without commercial insecticides.
  15. 1997-01-01 This publication is a brief introduction to soil solarization, a nonpesticidal method of controlling soilborne pests by placing plastic sheets on moist soil during periods of high ambient temperature. 12 pages, illustrated, photos.
  16. 2021-01-06 127 pp. : ill. Gift of Dr Abram Bicksler Jan 25, 2023 Fall armyworm (FAW) - or Spodoptera frugiperda - is a dangerous transboundary pest native to the Americas that has been spreading rapidly in Africa since 2016, causing significant yield losses to crops. Farmer education and community action...
  17. Key Resource 2019-03-21 This Technical Note provides an overview of parasitic plants of agricultural significance in Africa. Parasitic weeds cause drought stress and stunted crops. Affected plants include cereal grains (e.g., sorghum [Sorghum bicolor] and maize [Zea mays]) and grain legumes (e.g., cowpea [Vigna...
  18. 2024-04-01 ECHO’s agricultural staff often receive questions about ways to control snails naturally. This article shares some practical, low-resource options for control from OISAT and two ECHO Network Members.
  19. Key Resource This article is from ECHO Asia Note # 37. Seed saving in sub-tropical and tropical climates is challenging. Without equipment designed to maintain dry and cool environments, the quality of seeds may quickly deteriorate. High temperature and humidity during storage increase seed metabolism and...