Managing Animal & Plant Pests &

Diseases

CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP: Building Climate Resilience Agriculture in Pacific SIDS

11-13 August 2016, Nadi Fiji

Climate change (CC) influence on Pest &

Diseases triangle

Change in insect pest adaptation

• Farmers growing crops and vegetables on mountains on certain altitudes have been adversely affected by insect pests.

• The mountains have started to become much warmer thus these insect pests than never use to be seen at these altitudes have adapted themselves and causing havoc to farmers fields and forest vegetation.

• Natural enemies like parasitoids and predators take time to move up and establish in these mountains thus damage can always be seen.

• Farmers purchase expensive pesticides to try and control these insect pests.

• In the event of spraying these pesticides to control the insect they also kill whatever predators and parasitoids that have also may have adapted to this high altitude temperatures.

Pine wood nematode -

Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. (Courtesy P. Donald, copyright-free)

Monochamus (pine sawyer) beetles,

female (left) and male (right). (Courtesy

M. Linit) Blue stain fungus colonizing pine wood. (Courtesy P. Donald, copyright-free)

Dead pine tree with symptoms of pine wilt. (Courtesy P. Donald, copyright-free)

Pine Wilt disease

Movement of vector,

nematode and disease

pathogen up the mountain rangers

CC impacts on Insect Pests

Guam strain – G Strain

Samoa strain – S Strain

Very invasive – Guam, Hawaii, PNG Solomon Is & Palau – within 8 years (2007 – 2015)

Cocoa pod borer moth [Conopomorpha cramerella]

Papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus)

• Change in Weed adaptability patterns

• Change in Disease adaptability & pathogenicity

• Introduce integrated approach;- Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Integrated Vector Management (IVM).

• IPM – emphasis on use of biological control, enhance natural enemies, cultural practices and IPM compliant insecticides.

• ICM – planting of different crops in a given site (intercropping) increases both plants and insect biodiversity thus reduces dominance (avoid outbreaks) of a single population.

• IVM – understand the non-crop host plants for pest & diseases (reservoirs) and practice sanitation measures, manage vectors that transmit viruses to other plants.

• Cropping Cycle to also reflect and include resilient crops.

Measures to counter CC changes

• Ongoing pest and disease surveillance on low and high altitude areas and comparison of related pests on weather patterns.

• Research on the Biological niche on the flora and fauna and diversity present out there in the various pacific Island regions and identifying possible biological controls for various insect pests and diseases of concern.

• Update and Strengthen existing Biosecurity legislations to help individual Pacific Island regions identify and prevent the introduction of exotic pests and diseases.

• Also continue to strengthen the internal Biosecurity measures within the region to prevent the introduction of these pests and diseases internally within the islands.

• Research on available Bio-pesticides and its use. • Acknowledge the ongoing crop diversity resilient research and the

link with important partners in trials and ensuring proper fast feedback to the farmers on selected resilient crop varieties.

Cont’d

Livestock stress and reduced performance;

Feed and water shortage, pastures affected by no water and fires, mortality increases due to lack of quality feed and water, Increase in pests &b diseases e.g. horse flies, reduced vegetation for feed and shade. Drought force animals to vandalize food crops

Livestock production affected /reduced:

Due to national and farm infrastructures damaged, forests and trees damaged for feed and shade, livestock mortality increased, water condemnation from pollutants and water-borne diseases occur. Deforestation force animals to destroy gardens

i) Increased frequency and duration of droughts

ii) Increased intensity and frequency of cyclones

iii) New diseases continue to emerge

TC Winston - Pictures from Taveiuni integrated coconut/cattle farm estate

CC Impacts on livestock

Livestock production reduced: • Grazing land reduced, • water availability and quality

reduced, • salinification of fresh water

sources occur, • infrastructure suffer from rust

and damage, resulting in machinery losses,

• Pasture suffer from erosion, degradation, decreases in quality and overall losses.

• Spoilage of feeds in storage will occur, and costs will rise.

i) Storm surge, salt water intrusion and salt spray resulting from sea level rise

CC Impacts on livestock

• Traditional treatment losing effect

• Antimicrobial agents used to be highly successful in treating infections but their unrestricted use in humans and animals has led to an alarming rise in antimicrobial resistance, especially in the developing world

• Climate change has contributed to resistance as a result of increasing rate of infectious diseases and indiscriminate use of antibiotics treatment

Anti-microbial resistance

• Activity 1.2: In collaboration with GSD develop a GIS-based system for climate change risk assessment and resiliency planning for the livestock sector.

• Activity 1.3: Support the process of livestock climate disaster planning at Community, national and regional levels.

• Activity 2.4: Develop and disseminate climate adapted breeds and lines of chickens and pigs.

• Activity 2.5: Develop and disseminate climate appropriate livestock housing technologies adapted from current SPC designs. These technologies will be developed and tested in partnership with one or more national agricultural research services (NARS).

• Activity 4.1: Establish a program to support member countries in integrating livestock advice into seasonal forecast information production and dissemination.

• Activity 4.3: Implement a program of annual climate change training for AHP and stakeholders on key technical topics.

• Activity 4.4: Establish program of AHP visits, information sharing and networking with livestock units in other regional organizations, to facilitate transfer of knowledge and experiences related to adapting livestock to climate change.

• Activity 4.5: Build capacity of extension workers through community-based and participatory processes whilst promoting collaborative research into both endogenous and exogenous adaptation options.

• Activity 4.6 : Build capacities for improved climate forecasting and warning and increase awareness of climate change and its consequences.

10 Concept Notes developed to promote CC Adaptation & Resilience farming for livestock species

5 Year Strategic Plan for Mainstreaming Climate Change in the Livestock Sector in the Pacific 2011 – 2015

Adaptation and resilience

AHP developed-Climate

Change Fact Sheets

For more information visit

http://www.spc.int/

THANK YOU