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Overview
Social Initiatives
Fighting locusts in Indonesia
Stopping the swarms to save the farmers
For farmers in the Indonesian province of Sumba Timur, locust plagues were a bitter reality of everyday life for many years. Since 1988 the swarms had regularly showed up to devour entire fields and destroy compete harvests. Yet locust infestation is now a thing of the past, as three organizations joined forces to put the pests in their place. The German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the district government of Sumba Timur and Bayer Indonesia coordinated the fight against locusts as part of a public/private partnership project.
The logistical challenge in Sumba Timur province was to detect at an early stage and effectively combat an army consisting of millions of ravenous insects. An effective solution was finally found in Bayer's "Confidor" insecticide. 80 percent of the harvest and the livelihood of hundreds of farmers in the island nation could be saved.
Yet Bayer wasn't satisfied with simply providing insecticides and coordinating the operation. The partnership with the public institutions continued. The affected farmers received training in how to use the products, while a specially constructed early warning system detects breeding grounds and forming swarms in plenty of time — giving the farmers the opportunity to fight the swarms at an early stage.
The logistical challenge in Sumba Timur province was to detect at an early stage and effectively combat an army consisting of millions of ravenous insects. An effective solution was finally found in Bayer's "Confidor" insecticide. 80 percent of the harvest and the livelihood of hundreds of farmers in the island nation could be saved.
Yet Bayer wasn't satisfied with simply providing insecticides and coordinating the operation. The partnership with the public institutions continued. The affected farmers received training in how to use the products, while a specially constructed early warning system detects breeding grounds and forming swarms in plenty of time — giving the farmers the opportunity to fight the swarms at an early stage.
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