{"id":12806,"date":"2026-06-20T12:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/food-security-and-livelihoods-at-risk-as-destructive-pest-invades-tanzania\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:25:11","slug":"food-security-and-livelihoods-at-risk-as-destructive-pest-invades-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/food-security-and-livelihoods-at-risk-as-destructive-pest-invades-tanzania\/","title":{"rendered":"Food security and livelihoods at risk as destructive pest invades Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fast spreading and highly destructive papaya mealybug reaches Tanzania<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nA new destructive pest is rapidly spreading through the coastal areas of Tanzania around Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, attacking important food crops such as papaya and cassava, and ornamental plants such as hibiscus and frangipani. Scientists at the Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale (IIAT)<\/a>have identified it as the Papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus<\/em>)<\/a>.\n\nIn recent years, this highly invasive pest has also been spreading and causing damage in many Asian and West African countries. From its origin in Mexico, it was first observed on the African continent in Ghana in 2010 from where it spread to B\u00e9nin, Nigeria, Togo, and Gabon. This discovery in Tanzania means that the rest of East Africa is now likely to be affected as well.\n\nMealybug are tiny, white, flat insects which suck the life out of plants. The preferred host is papaya, but the insect also affects a wide range of crops including cassava, beans, coffee, pepper, melon, guava, tomato, eggplant, cotton, and jatropha. Therefore, if not controlled, the pest may cause widespread damage and loss of livelihoods for many farmers in the country.\n\nThe papaya mealybug appear as white fluffy spots on the undersides of leaves, branches, and fruit, often accompanied by an unsightly black, sticky substance coating these surfaces\u2015this is a result of a sugary excretion which attracts mold. The affected plants don\u2019t grow properly and farmers are unable to sell the often misshapen, discolored, and (in severe cases) completely shrivelled fruits.\n\nAccording to Dr James Legg<\/a>, IITA entomologist, and one of the scientists who is leading the efforts to contain the pest after first noticing the damage in his home garden, the papaya mealybug is currently one of the most destructive and rapidly spreading invasive insect species.\n\n\u201cIn Tanzania,\u201d he said, \u201cwe have observed the pest along the coastal belt around Dar es Salaam and its environs, mostly on papaya, cassava, and ornamental plants such as hibiscus and frangipani. We need to carry out a survey throughout the country to determine the full extent of spread and the range of plants affected.\u201d\n\n\u201cSamples sent to IITA’s Biological Control Center for Africa, Cotonou, B\u00e9nin, have been positively identified by the entomologist Dr Georg Goergen<\/a>. Now that we know with what we are dealing we need to act fast. The pest can easily spread throughout the East African region causing major damage and threatening the food security and incomes of tens of thous ands of Tanzanian farmers.\u201d\n\nThe mealybug are easily blown by the wind or carried by ants from one plant to another. They are transported longer distances by people who unknowingly carry infested plants or fruit from one part of the country to another, or from country to country.\n\nEfforts are under way from IITA, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFSC), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)<\/a> to mobilize funds to use biocontrol agents to contain the pest before it gets out of h and. This involves introducing its natural enemies, such as parasitoids\u2015extremely tiny insects that lay their eggs inside the papaya mealybug. As the eggs hatch, tiny worm-like \u201clarvae\u201d emerge which then eat the mealybug from the inside out!\n\nMr Elibariki Nsami<\/a> from the National Biological Control Programme (NBCP) of MAFSC said that biological control was the only effective way to manage the menace as most pesticides were not effective since mealybug are coated with a protective wax.\n\n\u201cThe biocontrol mechanisms are safe as they are very specific and attack only the papaya mealybug. They are also cheap, cost effective, and safe for the environment.\u201d\n\nIt will also be important to set up a surveillance system to track the spread of the pest in the country and the wider region and to create awareness among the farmers and general public on how to control it.\n\n###\n\nFor more information:\n\nDr James Legg, Entomologist, IITA-Tanzania, j.legg@cgiar.org<\/a>\nMr Elibariki Nsami, Senior Research Officer, NBCU, bio_nsami@yahoo.com<\/a>\nAndrea Gros, Head of Communication, IITA HQ, a.gros@cgiar.org<\/a>\nCatherine Njuguna, Communication Officer, IITA-Tanzania, c.njuguna@cgiar.org<\/a>\n\nFor more photos and images on the pest: https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/iita-media-library\/sets\/72157649235568383\/<\/a>\n\n\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong>, www.iita.org<\/a>\n\nIITA is one of the world\u2019s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Its award-winning research for development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967 and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana\/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fast spreading and highly destructive papaya mealybug reaches Tanzania A new destructive pest is rapidly spreading through the coastal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12807,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[301],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[27],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[],"class_list":["post-12806","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cassavapapayapapaya-mealybugtanzania","location-tanzania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/12806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/12806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"science-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/science-area?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"hub","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"crop","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/crop?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"impact-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/impact-areas?post=12806"},{"taxonomy":"item-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item-year?post=12806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}