Even an organically managed garden is not immune to pests, but we use natural means to maintain soil and plant health in our Gambian youth education project. Also for the benefit of consumers.

Agricultural expert Romain in front of his tobacco plant field, ©Sabab Lou

Friendly pest control

We have had all kinds of pests: from mites to coal larvae to termites. Nevertheless, we do not use chemical means to deal with such pests. For example, we scare away termites with eucalyptus branches stuck in termite mounds – a feast for the chickens. Or we use tobacco and neem leaves, fermented with garlic, to make an effective remedy against cabbage flies, aphids or spider mites.

For this purpose, we have now planted the first tobacco fields, on the one hand to produce the pesticide and on the other hand to grow seeds ourselves for further plantings. This also seems to be a lucrative source of income: in The Gambia, the demand for organic pest control products is growing.

Producing our own organic remedies not only protects nature. Whatever we can produce ourselves also serves for low-cost cultivation and thus profitable income generation in agriculture.