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Mango growers in Burkina Faso have regained control of fruit fly attacks, the small insect pests that have already devastated entire mango orchards in the sub-region.

With improved monitoring and control of fruit flies, this West African country has seen its mango production rise from 90,000 tonnes in 2017, to 200,000 tonnes in 2018, according toBurkina Faso's mango industry interprofession (APROMAB). In terms of progression, this represents an increase of 115%.

Those involved in the mango sector claim that such an achievement would never have been possible without the Projet de Soutien au Plan Régional de Lutte et de Contrôle des Mouches des Fruits en Afrique de l'Ouest (PLMF), funded by the European Union (EU), the ECOWAS Commission (Economic Community of West African States), and theAgence française de développement (AFD).

The West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) managed the adaptive research component of the project, alongside some of the region's national research systems, including that of Burkina Faso.

"The progress made in recent years in terms of mango production and exports would not have been possible without the Fruit Fly Project," says Paul Ouédraogo, President of APROMAB.

"The willingness of growers to adopt and use improved fruit fly control and prevention techniques has also been very helpful in managing this scourge."

Nearly 20,000 farmers are involved in mango production in Burkina Faso. Orchards cover nearly 33,000 hectares of land, mainly in the south-west and centre-west of the country. In addition to its significant economic value for households and the state, mango production is an important source of food and nutrition.

Overall, around 8,500 tonnes of dried and fresh mangoes were exported in 2018, compared with 7,000 tonnes in 2017.

In recent years, mango exports have been shipped to Niger, Ghana, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, England and the United States.

Mango varieties produced and exported from Burkina Faso include "Kent", "Amélie", "Brooks", "Keitt", "Valencia", "Lippens" and "Springfels". In terms of demand, "Kent" ranks first in exports, particularly to the European market.

Testimony: Mr. Zeni Mamadou SIMPORE, mango producer. Bama, Burkina-Faso.

Fewer cargo interceptions, a sign of improved export quality

Another sign of the improvement in the quality of mangoes produced in Burkina Faso is that in recent years there have been fewer interceptions and destruction of shipments from the country.

In 2016 alone, nearly 23 seizures of mango shipments exported from Burkina Faso to European markets were recorded. In 2018, this figure fell to eight.

"This means that our farmers are doing a better job of monitoring and controlling fruit flies," explains Ouédraogo.

As well as increasing exports and production levels, the harvest season is also getting longer. Traditionally, the mango season runs from March to May. But with better fruit fly control techniques, it could extend to the end of June 2019.

"Before, we couldn't export beyond May 15. But this year, we expect exports to last beyond June," said Paul Ouédraogo, whom we met in the city of Bobo Dioulasso, located in the Haut Bassin region at the end of May 2019.

The proliferation of fruit flies increases with the rainy season, which starts at the end of May in Burkina Faso. "But it's because we've gotten better at fighting this plague that growers can keep their mangoes a little longer than usual," says Ouédraogo.

Concern after the announced end of the Fruit Fly Management Project

The fruit fly control project is drawing to a close.

Burkina Faso's experience with projects designed to help mango growers cope with the scourge of fruit flies, showed that once the project was over, the flies reappeared.

For many of the country's farmers, this is a concern. Many fear the reappearance of the fly in orchards, if appropriate measures are not taken before the 2019/2020 agricultural season.

''I'm very much afraid that if we don't get help in the next farming season, we risk losing all our investments,'' said a bitter Sana Bata, 46, a mango grower based in the Haut Bassin region of Burkina Faso.

"The worry with the ECOWAS project (Editor's note: PLMF) ending this year is that we may not have the means to continue buying produce, and that the consequence will be the return of fruit flies," Ouédraogo noted in turn.

"We may have contained the fruit fly, but the fight isn't over yet," he concludes.

However, APROMAB is taking a proactive approach to the challenge.

"What we're also doing is encouraging our members to make orchard treatment a routine operation and not depend solely on projects. We need to integrate treatment issues into our core activities as growers," says the head of Burkina's mango growers.

Facing stricter rules

Producing quality mangoes is not an option for producers in Burkina Faso. Its main export partner, the European Union, has recently issued more stringent guidelines for mangoes imported from West Africa.

In April 2019, the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee declared in a new directive that exporters of West African mangoes must verify that the mango has been subjected to an effective treatment to ensure that it is free from fruit flies (Tephritidae), and that the treatment data must be included in the phytosanitary certificate that must accompany the export.

This means that Burkinabe producers can no longer afford to rely on the unique quality of their mangoes.