“The Development of an Integrated Pest Management Programme for the Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus Hampie [Farrari], in Jamaica”

Dwight Robinson

Department of Life 

The coffee industry is a major contributor to the Jamaican economy and, despite recent declines in production, remains, the second largest income earner in the agricultural sector. According to the Coffee Industry Board statistics, the sector earns up to US$59 million annually and provides employment for over
100,000 persons. During the last decade, output from the sector has declined significantly and many farmers have suggested that this is due to a higher incidence of pests, increased cost of inputs, and a fall in the price obtained for the product on the world market. The lower prices have resulted in relatively lower income
from the crop, which makes it difficult for farmers to afford the inputs required to maintain the crop at optimum production levels and reduce losses resulting from pest infestation. In 2012, the Coffee Industry Board (CIB) reported that increasing infestation levels of the coffee berry borer (CBB) threatened to wipe out as much as half of the island coffee production. Losses of up to J$432 million in export earnings were forecast for that year if the problem was not solved. Prior to 20 I O, the CBB was controlled primarily through the use of the organochlorine insecticide, endosulfan. However, because of its persistence in the environment and its toxicity to non-target organisms such as fish and shrimp, its importation and use were
banned in Jamaica in 2010. Since then, there has been an effort to find alternate insecticides. However, some farmers have complained of inefficient levels of control with the application of these insecticides which, they claim, are responsible for the increased CBB infestation levels. 

While some farmers may be interested in finding an insecticide to replace endosulfan, the ecological sensitivity of the areas in which most of Jamaica coffee is cultivated dictates that the chemical- control approach be abandoned in favour of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach, if the problem of crop losses associated with the CBB is to be effectively tackled. Such IPM models must be consistent with the ecological and socioeconomic realities of the areas in which coffee is being cultivated.

These models should incorporate data on spatial and temporal distribution of the pest, susceptibility of different varieties of coffee to the CBB, the economic impact of the pest, the efficacy of different control strategies against the pest, and the ecological effect of the control strategies. This research project seeks to generate the necessary data that will provide the knowledge base required for the development of such IPM
programmes. 

Undertaken in partnership with the CIB, members of the Jamaica Agrochemicals Association and coffee farmers, the project seeks to generate data on the levels of CBB infestation in different coffee producing areas, the economic loss associated with the CBB in these areas, and the susceptibility of the pest to different control strategies. The data generated will facilitate the development of area-specific CBB IPM programmes. These will be designed to ensure compatibility with the particular agro-ecological and socioeconomic conditions of the areas in which the coffee farms are located.