October 20, 2022

Habrobracon hebetor: the biological solution for the protection of millet crops in Niger

Staple Crops

Niger

Millet is the staple crop and the main source of food energy for Sahelian populations. It is one of the few cereals that is the most rustic and best adapted to the severe climatic conditions that prevail in the Sahel. In Niger, our partnership on millet with the Fédération des Unions des Groupements Paysans du Niger (FUGPN-Mooriben) aims to revitalize the sector and enable small producers to produce millet of high nutritional quality through the popularization of the Chakti variety. Beyond that, another no less important ambition of this partnership is to provide bio-fortified millet for domestic consumption by rural households and for processing by women. However, millet production faces difficulties related to natural conditions and crop pests, including the millet leafminer. This much-feared pest in Niger attacks millet when producers are hoping for a good harvest. To deal with this pest, the partnership has introduced an innovation developed by research centers such as the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Niger (INRAN), CERRA in Maradi and ICRISAT.

Called Wangaro in the Zarma language, which means "the warrior", the habrobracon, a small parasitoid wasp of the Braconidae family, is used to control several species of lepidopterans, including the millet leafminer. It is a biological solution presented as one of the best solutions in the control of the leafminer.

Strengthening producers' skills in wasp farming

To facilitate the mass adoption of this technology by millet farmers, several producer organizations (POs) in the partnership were trained on breeding techniques for these wasps. Today, thanks to these trainings, the breeding of the antidote to one of the most fearsome pests of millet has been developed in the main millet production basins of Niger. The technique, although new, is simple to apply. It entails putting about 25 earthworm corsilates and 3 habrobracon females in a box. The latter will first sting the corsilats and lay eggs which will turn into habrobracon after 3 days.

Thanks to the training of POs, access to technology has become easier for producers. A perfect example are producers of the Hareybane Union in the village of Téra, a member of the Mooriben Federation. In addition to raising wasps to protect their own crops, they also sell them to other producers in the surrounding villages.

The breeding of habrobracon allows us not only to protect our production, but it has also become an income generating activity for many young people. As a result, it allows us to protect our fields, to earn income and to create jobs” said Mr Boukari Harouna, the President of the Union.

said Mr Boukari Harouna, the President of the Union.

The release of habrobracon in the millet fields

Following the breeding process, the wasps are placed in small bags of about 20 cm. These bags contain small holes and are sold at 2000 FCFA ($3) per unit, and will be hung on the four sides of the millet field. In this way, the wasps escape from these small holes and roam the field in search of the leafminers. The wasp larvae feed directly on the leafminers which eradicates them.

For a one-hectare field, the producer uses one bag on average. However, to allow for wide coverage, up to 4 bags placed in different corners of the field can be used.

Perspectives of Habrobracon extension in 2SCALE partnerships

At 2SCALE, the popularization of new technologies is part of the improvement of producers' productivity. To this end, the program does not skimp on the means to export and disseminate the technologies tested within its partnerships. To determine the suitability of their use at the local level, these technologies are introduced through a pilot. Regarding habrobracon, the program plans, in the near future, to introduce it in other partnerships in its various countries of intervention, while involving youth in the mass production and dissemination of this technology.

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