Worldwide, farmers lose more than 25% of their harvests each year due to crop pests and diseases that attack their fields. Pests and diseases not only affect farmers’ family food baskets and income, but they also affect how much food is available on global markets. Ironically, one solution to that loss can be found where the loss is occurring. Consider, for example, that there are some 1,200 varieties of bananas and thousands of varieties of beans – each of these varieties has its own level of resistance to pests, diseases and even to extreme weather conditions that could stem those losses. That is why Bioversity International has set up field trials, working with farmers who plant different varieties of the same crops next to each other in their fields, to see which combinations provide the most effective control against which pests and diseases. Initial results from around the world indicate change.
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Offering defence against pests and diseases; Bioversity International farmer-researcher field trials mark success at several levels
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