Plant pests currently destroy up to 40 percent of agricultural crops, including food crops each year, which cost the world approximately USD 220 billion annually in global trade losses.

Studies from the FAO have shown that climate change is likely to accelerate the spread of crop pests threatening plants and harvests.

A single, unusually warm winter may be enough to assist the establishment of invasive pests in agricultural and forestry ecosystems especially in cooler Arctic, boreal, temperate and subtropical regions.

Some pests, like fall armyworm (which feeds on a growing number of crops, including maize, sorghum, millet) and Tephritid fruit flies (which damage fruit and other crops), have already spread due to warmer climate.

Warmer temperatures are enabling some insect pests to have more generations each year, extending the period over which they are active or extending their distribution range.

Large-scale windthrow or drought stress can lead to bark beetle outbreaks.

We are working hard in our Pest Research Hub to stay ahead of what may be happening by researching and developing pheromone-based lures to help monitor for species, which may currently not pose a threat to specific areas.

For some, such as the Bertha Army Worm – Mamestra configurata we already have monitoring/trapping solutions. As a business, which works internationally to support the practice of integrated pest management in developing countries, we are able to run appropriate field trials making sure that the products we offer are highly effective.