Abstract
Reducing pesticide use for plant health has become a goal shared by CILSS and ECOWAS countries and a major issue in public policies due to their negative footprint on the environment, human health, and food security in a context of augmentation of phytosanitary risks linked to climate change. In Senegal, a low-income country, where available chemical pesticides are of uncertain origin and quality, the use of unproven quality homemade plant extracts preparations tends to be normalized. Other Biological Control and Biopesticides 564 Surveys conducted in the regions of Fatick, Tamba, and Thies in 2021 and 2022 have shown that chemical pesticides are considered as effective by 97% of respondents. Less than 10% of them use natural products. Regarding organic horticulture, in the vegetable crops and fruits production area in Thiès, 98% of interviewed people were not convinced of the efficacy of homemade plant extracts preparations to control pests, while country and trans-border expertise have capitalized a set of plant species among which Azadirachta indica, Cassia senegalensis, Eucalyptus sp., Allium cepa, Allium sativum, and Capsicum annuum. They invest in the production of biopesticides or source from local input suppliers without enough knowledge on pests, biopesticide preparation techniques and compliance of commercial biopesticide formulations with regulatory requirements. The adoption of the use of plant extracts against crop pest in Senegal where the chemical pesticides use, trade, and availability have reduced traditional local plant protection knowledge transmission in farmers communities, finding alternatives is challenging for producers engaged in organic and those engaged in agroecology.