Scientific Mission reinforces value of continued support against Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Georgia
Sheryl Cowan, Vice President of Programs at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), and Louisa Namicheishvili, Deputy Chief of Party of the USAID Agriculture Program, recap the 2019 Georgia Scientific Mission and discuss the impact of the mission on brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) management across the hazelnut value chain.
Leading entomologists from four U.S. universities, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, and Trécé Inc. convened for a one-week scientific mission in Georgia from August 24–29, 2019. Over the course of the week, the entomologists shared knowledge with Georgian scientists and researchers in the Black Sea region regarding monitoring and control of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), a pest which threatens hazelnuts and other crops in western regions of the country.
The September BMSB mission, organized by the USAID Agriculture Program, the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project (G-HIP) and Trécé Inc., — two five-year activities funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) to provide agricultural technical assistance in the Republic of Georgia, and a U.S. manufacturer of pheromone-based monitoring and control products — was a follow-up mission to the initial 2018 scientific mission organized to examine and provide recommendations to mitigate the challenges and constraints faced by farmers in fighting the BMSB during the 2017 growing season.
The 2018 mission, hosted by CNFA’s USAID-funded Restoring Efficiency to Agriculture Production (REAP) project, the predecessor to the USAID Agriculture Program, and Trécé Inc. helped to inform this year’s event as well as to direct the research and approaches that USAID, CNFA, Trécé and the Georgian Government have used to combat the pest. The approaches included the use of Trécé’s PHEROCON® insect kits (used to measure the intensity of the infestation in a given radius in order to provide targeted spraying) and communication, outreach and capacity building for Georgian farmers.
In a testament from Trécé Inc., CEO Bill Lingren noted that “Trécé Inc. is committed to working on the ground in cooperation with top experts from both countries to share knowledge and to propagate the use of the latest pest monitoring and control solution. As we have learned from earlier work with our Georgian partners, these joint efforts generate mutual benefits — helping Georgian farmers and protecting their crops and advancing Trécé Inc.’s own research and development endeavors which produce gains that benefit our business, employees and our communities.”
During the mission, participants engaged with Georgian entomologists, visited small and medium-size hazelnut and corn fields in western Georgia, exchanged knowledge with the Georgian Hazelnut Growers Association, attended a presentation on the National Food Agency’s BMSB monitoring system, and met with the Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and the Chairman of the Agrarian committee. The participants noted that the recommendations from the 2018 mission had been successfully applied, leading to a remarkable decrease in the prevalence of BMSB. This in turn resulted in a significant increase in quantity and quality of hazelnuts and maize over the previous year.
The scientific mission concluded on August 29 with a conference in Tbilisi on international BMSB best practices and solutions, gathering highly experienced scientists from the U.S., Europe, and Australia; representatives of the Georgian Government; Georgian academia and other invited guests from throughout the Black Sea region. The event also featured remarks from Georgia’s Deputy Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture, Giorgi Khanishvili; USAID Georgia Mission Director, Peter A. Wiebler; Head of the Georgian National Food Agency, Zurab Chekurashvili; and many more.
Overall, the 2018 and 2019 missions were successful, fostering new connections, strengthening existing relationships and laying the foundations for stronger integrated pest management in Georgia — efforts which will help to safeguard the future crops and revenues of Georgian farmers.
But the impact doesn’t stop after the mission ends. Together with USAID and private sector actors such as Trécé Inc., Georgian scientists and government departments will continue to provide support to farmers through their information campaigns, BMSB monitoring system, pest management recommendations, capacity building efforts and continued research and development.
As evidence of these closer relationships, the scientific mission has engendered a U.S. study tour for Georgian government and private sector representatives, sponsored by Trécé Inc., which will include a visit to Trécé Inc.’s laboratories in Oklahoma as well as farms in California and Washington to demonstrate American pest management in action. This is just one example of the many collaborative endeavors intended to improve the management of the infestation.
The USAID Agriculture Program and the USAID-funded Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project will also continue to build on the efforts of the scientific mission by providing assistance to Georgian government agencies, scientists and farmers as they combat the BMSB infestation in Georgia and the greater Black Sea Region.
