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Oxfam in India - Little red hairy caterpillars
Farmers in India face many problems. There are droughts, floods,
and pests, which can all destroy crops. To prevent their crops being
destroyed, many farmers have become highly organised, and have worked
together to save their livelihoods. One example of this is the case
of the little red hairy caterpillars, which used to plague farmers
in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh - until Oxfam was able
to help.
Twenty years ago the numbers of red hairy caterpillars suddenly
began to increase. They ate and destroyed the castor-oil crops,
the main cash crop for farmers in this area. Something had to be
done to prevent this happening, but by themselves farmers were helpless
in stopping the caterpillars. Many families spent their days trying
to kill the caterpillars. Pesticides (chemicals to kill pests) were
too expensive for the farmers to buy, and because the caterpillars
hatch over a period of six weeks, it would have meant using potentially
dangerous chemicals over long periods of time.
But Oxfam's support through a government pest-control programme
begun to help the farmers. This is how it works: As the caterpillar
season approaches, trained monitors from each village inspect the
earth for signs of hatched moths. They send postcards to a central
co-ordinator who tells the farming community. Then the farmers swing
into action. To catch the moths, they put up light traps during
the night to attract and trap them (moths will fly towards bright
light) before they can mate and lay eggs.
This method of pest control works well because it is simple, safe,
cheap, and effective. Oxfam has funded and worked with the organisation
Seena Jana Abhyudaya Seva Mandal, which organised the farmers, and
local government. The farmers have worked together, rather than
by themselves, and the success of the light traps depended on all
of them joining in.
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