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Challenge note 02
Invasive species and pest control
The Golden Apple Snail and Quelea birds are well-documented threats to rice in the Delta.
Rice in the Delta faces serious pest pressure. The Golden Apple Snail (Pomacea canaliculata) damages young seedlings, and Quelea birds (Quelea quelea) attack the grain heads as they ripen.
Our response is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme. It combines water-level control, biological controls, shared community planting calendars and eco-friendly seed treatments developed with KALRO.
Coordinated planting is a pest control measure in its own right. When every field is planted on the same calendar, the vulnerable period is short, and scouting and response work far better than they do when smallholders plant at different times.