“These fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of the fruit”, explains Professor John Mumford, Professor of Natural Resource Management; “then the maggots develop inside and once infested, they can only be sold to the processing market.”
The challenge then, is to protect the fruit while it’s growing on the trees, so that farmers can get the maximum price.
In collaboration with the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research and other partners across India, the team developed a simple but highly effective ‘lure and bait’ trap which kills the fruit fly with insecticide.
“Farmers are around $6-7,000 dollars per hectare better off and there are tens of thousands - and potentially hundreds of thousands doing it.”
In fact, this solution is estimated to be worth around $500 million a year to the Indian economy. And that money is staying in rural areas where it’s needed most.
