Agony of farmers forced to clear plantation over papaya mealybugs

Paul Kibet watched helplessly as papaya mealybugs ravaged his two-acre pawpaw farm in the Perkerra Scheme, a crucial income source for local farmers. Despite using pesticides, the mealybugs continued to devastate his crops. When Smart Harvest visited in February, the farmers' struggle was clear. By May, Kibet and others hoped for relief from a new biological control solution provided by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI).

Kibet had hoped the biological control would stop the mealybugs, which left his pawpaw plants covered in a white residue. "Cutting down the plantation was the hardest decision I've ever made," Kibet said. Despite initial resistance, he eventually cleared his farm after the intervention failed.