Abstract:
Mango in Ghana is targeted as the next non-traditional export crop that is expected to fetch the highest foreign exchange for the country than cocoa. However, production and export constraints caused by fruit fly Bactrocera invadens has placed serious limitation on its marketing to the extent of imposing bans on imports from Ghana. Notwithstanding efforts rolled out to control the flies, they are still prevalent in the system. This paper presents the cost benefit assessments of using “Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) protein bait” to control fruit fly Bactrocera invadens relative to other control measures in the Eastern region of South Ghana. Scientists from the BNARI of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission developed a research programme against this foe. Cost benefit assessment revealed that chemical control reduce losses from 60% to 40% at the beginning of the growing season and can reach up to 60% for late maturing varieties at a cost of US$915.2 per acre per year. However, with the BNARI trap, losses are reduced from 60% to 5% at the beginning of the growing season and can reach up to 10% for later maturing varieties at a cost of US$688 per acre per year. Using BNARI protein baits to control fruit fly also provide growers with benefits such as improved quality and shelf life for fruit because it is not subject to chemical treatments. The casual loop diagram (CLD) revealed that fly control with BNARI trap is friendly to beneficial insects during pollination and has no harmful impact on health compared to the traditional approaches
