Protecting the Ethiopian Flora from the Ravages of Arthropod Pests

Abstract

This chapter reviews the progress in entomological research on major cultivated crops in Ethiopia and offers suggestions for future priorities. More than 740 arthropod pest species that attack a variety of cultivated crops in Ethiopia have been recorded, of which about 20% are regarded as major. The focus in the 1980s and 1990s was on the development and implementation of integrated pest management approaches, with a major emphasis on the use of cultural practices and host plant resistance. The efforts on biological control are limited mainly to the determination of associated indigenous natural enemies. The need for prioritizing pest problems based on the country’s development agenda and available resources is stressed by listing pest species that need to be given special emphasis by research in the immediate future. The research system needs to gear itself towards tackling pest problems associated with expanding commercial farming using existing and emerging scientific advances.