DA7 teaches farmers to prepare biopesticide- an alternative to chemicals

The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 7- Research Division in coordination with the Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) recently taught six farmer- associations in Mantalongon to prepare earwigs. According to AMIA focal, Fabio Enriquez, earwigs reduce the cost of production as it acts as biopesticide and can be replicated at an affordable cost.

According to Enriquez, an earwig only costs P0.25 cents and a hectare needs to be populated with 10,000, enough to curb the population of the Asian corn borer.

Bienvenido Acabal, chief of the Regional Crop Protection Center said that earwigs eradicate Asian corn borer, corn earworm, and other soft-bodied insects. He added that applying earwigs to the farm is an advocacy of the integrated pest management of the DA. Among the topics discussed were production methods and spraying techniques.

According to studies, the Asian corn borer is one of the most destructive pests of corn in Southeast Asia at damaging levels, and the usage of synthetic insecticides to repel the insect has created human and environmental safety concerns, on the other hand, earwigs are found to be safe on humans and the environment.

Based on the recent price data of the DA, the price of insecticides has doubled since the pandemic adding a financial burden to the farmers. The training is part of the series of on-site seminars conducted by the AMIA team to equip farmers with alternative ways to combat pests and diseases to save on production costs.