P. Neuenschwander, C. Borgemeister and J. Langewald. Editors
CABI Publishing (in association with ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural
and Rural Co-operation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)
Wallingford, Oxon, UK
2003, 414 pp.
Price: $140
ISBN: 0-85199-639-6
This book is the result of an adventurous undertaking to
provide a review of biological control across a broad spectrum of integrated
pest management (IPM) systems in Africa. Africa is a massive continent with
diverse climates and ecosystems, diverse agriculture, and many cultures and
languages, which make this task an ambitious one indeed. The editors have done a
good job of selecting noted authors and addressing a spectrum of systems. The
book includes 24 chapters contributed by numerous African scientists and
scientists from other continents (62 contributors from 19 countries) brought
together to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of biological
control on the continent, success stories and failures, and work in progress at
the time of writing. It is encouraging to see the extent and quality of
biological control work in Africa and the diversity of approaches reported,
including the extensive use of entomopathogens. The contributions are not
limited to insect IPM, but also include weed management, nematode management,
and even biological control of plant diseases. I was surprised that IPM in
citrus and deciduous fruit production—both of which are agricultural industries
into which biological control has been effectively incorporated—was omitted.
The first chapter, by D. J. Greathead, sets the scene for
this book, providing a historical overview of biological control in Africa.
Greathead examines implementation of biological control during different
periods, summarizes the success rate of natural enemies, and examines how the
application of biological control has changed over time. The next 22 chapters
detail various biological control programs, most of which specifically address
pests such as cassava mealybugs, potato tuber moths, whiteflies, and other key
pests. In each case, an overview of the problem is given, and the various
biological control efforts (and other IPM alternatives in many cases) explored
are summarized.
Anyone interested in determining what work has been done in
the various systems will not be disappointed; each chapter provides a good
overview. The authors of most chapters provide a reasonable synopsis of how
biological control is integrated with alternative pest and weed suppression
tactics. However, I thought that, in general, there was little synthesis of the
data presented in terms of why some programs were successful and others failed.
Being a complex topic, this may well be a pursuit probably beyond the scope of
this book and better suited to a separate volume. Nevertheless, the book
certainly meets its objective of showing how biological control forms a common
basis for many IPM systems in Africa.
Several chapters discuss the needs of small-scale farmers in
Africa. In the final chapter, Neuenschwander et al. examine the importance of
biological control for increasing productivity, reducing poverty, and enhancing
environmental improvement in Africa. The authors of the final chapter point out
that African agriculture is sadly unproductive relative to the needs of the
continent. They examine why this is so, and offer suggestions on sustainable
solutions offered by IPM systems based on biological control strategies. They
also link earlier chapters in the book in this chapter, showing how each case
study has contributed to improving the situation in Africa. Interactions between
researchers, extension personnel, and farmers are discussed—this is a crucial
aspect of effective IPM implementation in Africa (and anywhere else, really),
and deserves more attention. This chapter provides a good conclusion to the
book, ending the book on an optimistic note.
I expect that this book should be of interest to anyone
working in agricultural pest management in Africa, including students of IPM.
The content of this book should be relevant to researchers and students in many
other regions as well, particularly the tropics, and of course in regions that
have pests of African origin.
