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.
[
www.fao.org]
[
www.fao.org]