Defining biotechnological solutions for insect control in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Africa is burdened by food insecurity with nearly a billion people suffering from starvation, undernutrition, and malnutrition. Climate change prediction models forecast changes in rainfall patterns and rising temperature regimes, with impacts particularly on Southern and East Africa. These predictions are especially concerning for the production of major food crops, such as maize, sorghum, millet, and groundnut, because median temperature increases are associated with increased pest pressure and changes in migratory patterns. These factors will result in significantly more pest invasions and an increased need for innovative insect management practices. This review focuses on pest control strategies, highlighting important examples, their economic impact, and new alternative pest control strategies. African policymakers remain hesitant to move forward with establishing biosafety laws and commercializing GM crops, and it is often difficult to implement regulatory measures in smallholder agriculture to increase efficacy.