Evidence on effectiveness of parasitoids as biological control agents in integrated crop pest management programmes in Africa

Despite advances in science, technology and innovations, the extent and depth of food insecurity in the developing world remains unconscionable. About 800 million people which constitutes one-sixth of the developing world’s population do not have access to sufficient food to lead to healthy, productive lives. Globally, a major challenge to food security is the increasing pest and diseases infestation that decimates agricultural productivity. In the case of the developing world, food insecurity is closely associated with poverty and many households cannot afford use of new advances in agricultural production to reduce pest infestation on their crops. The use of biological control is therefore very critical and a userfriendly approach particularly for smallholder farmers who cannot afford use of pesticides. In addition, biological control is environment-friendly and should be promoted. Parasitoids of Hymenopteran super families, mainly in the Apocrita (e.g., Encarsia formosa, Epidinocarsis lopez,, Gyranusoidea tebygi) have been successfully introduced and established for crop pest management. In this paper, we review and present evidence on the effectiveness of parasitoids in crop pest management with a view to promote their application among smallholder farming systems in Africa.