Three new plant protection products are now available for mango in West Africa

Three new plant protection products (PPPs) have been granted a Provisional Authorization of Sale (APV) with the support of COLEACP’s Fit For Market SPS programme at the 6th Extraordinary Session of the Sahelian Committee for Pesticides (SPC) in October 2022. This means that they will be available to producers for the 2023 season in the nine West African countries covered by the SPC: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Gambia. The products are for use against anthracnose and fruit flies in mango.

Anthracnose is still hampering West African mango exports to the European Union (EU). Following the lowering of the EU Maximum Residue Level (MRL) of prochloraz to the Limit of Detection (LOD) in 2020, producers have been left without options to control the disease on crops for export to the EU. To address this problem, COLEACP implemented field trials in 2019/2020 to test and accelerate the registration of two alternative solutions: SCHOLAR (fludioxonil), a post-harvest dip treatment; and SERENADE (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST 713), a post-harvest dip treatment compatible with organic production. In the interim, the results of COLEACP trials have been used to support requests for SCHOLAR to be used in the 2020 and 2021 seasons in Senegal, Mali and Guinea.

Fruit flies are still a major challenge for West African mango exports to the EU. In fact, fruits containing larva cannot enter the EU, and infested consignments are rejected by the European phytosanitary services. The problem facing producers is compounded by the limited range of products authorised by the SPC for use on mango to control them. To support the implementation of integrated fruit fly management in West Africa, and to increase the range of solutions available to producers, COLEACP has supported the registration of Bb-Protec (Beauveria bassiana), a pre-harvest treatment for use in orchards, compatible with organic production.

Before using either of the products mentioned here as compatible with organic production, farmers are recommended to check which substances are allowed in organic farming in the market of destination.

This activity is supported by the Fit For Market SPS programme, implemented by COLEACP within the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union.