According to the Brazilian Agency, seven African countries are already developing in their plantations the Brazilian techniques of integrated pest management. To improve management techniques, Africans will also visit units of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), universities and institutes that developed techniques to combat cartridge caterpillar.
“We are not afraid of the cartridge caterpillar in Brazil,” said Embrapa Maize and Sorghum chief Antônio Álvaro Purcino. The unit, located in the interior of Minas Gerais, will be one of those visited by Africans. According to Purcino, this pest has already been responsible for damages to Brazilian crops, causing losses between 30% and 50% of the affected areas. “For more than 40 years we have been working on solutions to deal with it, especially after the expansion we had in corn production.”