Jul 16, 2007

Simple Can Be Best

by Laura Starita

When considering development opportunities for poor countries it is most common to hear ideas that require the integration of modern technologies, such as building cellular networks in South Asia, or providing African farmers with modified seeds for drought resistance. While much good can come from introducing new technologies, the best of development often comes when existing resources are put to mindful use.

One such example of this comes from a recent Economist article about the use of weaver ants in Mango trees. Mango growers frequently lose the majority of their crop to fruit flies, which are difficult to eradicate even using chemical pesticides. But scientists have discovered that weaver ants—which are endemic everywhere in Africa where mangoes grow—are natural fruit fly hunters, reducing fruit fly infestation dramatically. It is easy to train farmers to spread weaver colonies throughout their groves, and farmers that use weaver ants instead of pesticides can sell their produce as organic at a premium.

It is a solution that is easy to learn, low-tech, endemic to the culture, solves an existing problem and can dramatically increase income: all the best of development.

Economist: Biological Pest Control

International Herald Tribune: Will technology be the end of poverty?