Mango farmers at Somanya, capital of the Yilo Krobo District in the Eastern Region, are calling for government support in combating fruit-flies on their farms.

Detected in Ghana from February 2005, the flies attack several commercially produced fruit and vegetables -- with mango as one of the preferred hosts. Other host-crops include citrus, banana, papaya, water-melon, tomatoes, garden-eggs, Indian almond, and cashew.

Fudu Baba Nkyem, Farm Manager at Hydrotech Farms and Trading -- a mango grower and livestock company -- said without government’s support mango exports could be curtailed or even banned if flies are found in fruit exported to the international market.

Ghana among other sub-Saharan countries has been bracketed as a fruit-fly endemic zone, making it very difficult for fruit like mango from the country to penetrate international markets including Europe, USA and South Africa.

Mango production is gradually becoming an alternative livelihood source for many in the country, but it appears the farmers are not getting value for money as they are losing the battle against fruit-flies on their farms.

Mr. Nkyem called for either a mass-spraying activity or special chemicals or methods to combat the flies and stop them destroying their fruits. “We want government to come in with a mass-spraying team or special chemical or method -- not our insecticides or traps – that can control the flies. I can only catch a few flies with my traps, and that is even because we are in an association and our farm is certified,” he said.

He noted that several small farmers do not know much about the havoc the flies can cause and are uninterested in preventing them, which poses a threat to farms like his.

He said government can easily intervene through several measures, citing the example of how pawpaw farmers were trying to combat Mealybugs to no avail until government came in and introduced insects that ate all the Mealybugs.

He said currently the only ways they are using to control the pest are protein baits and traps. “But we cannot be doing this all the time; we want government to come in and help us or else we cannot export the mangoes any longer,” he said.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/