“Key Informant Survey” of Production, Value, Losses and ... - DfID

cultures of flies will be of locally-caught strains, eliminating the risk of escapes leading to the
establishment of alien strains.
Indirect Environmental Impacts We see no indirect environmental hazards arising from the results
of this project. Positive environmental impacts may arise as a result of the implementation of reducedchemical
control measures, such as reductions in insecticide exposure of non-target organisms such as
humans, wildlife, domestic animals and beneficial species such as pollinators and pest natural enemies.
The expansion of tree fruit production may improve soil conservation and the habitat availability to
species such as birds of agricultural and conservation value.
19. Describe the project activities
The full work plan is given in Appendix III. The following is a summary of this.
The work is proposed to take place over two and a quarter years. All field work (Activities 1.2, 2 and
3) will take place at eight points, by five administrative centres (three in Gujarat by GAU, two in
Kerala by KAU, one each by CISH Lucknow, IIVR Varanasi and IIHR Bhubaneshwar). The
knowledge review (Activity 1.1) will be at one institution (IARI New Delhi, with journeys). CABI
Bioscience will provide assistance in administration and in liaison between Indian and UK scientific
workers. These roles and their budgets have been agreed.
Imperial College will provide technical, training and material support, developing techniques combining
its own past experience of Tephritid research with collaboration from local participants with local
research backgrounds. Imperial College will develop, in consultation with participants, the datasheets,
data spreadsheet templates, questionnaires and other research tools, to be delivered as photocopyable
data sheets and software templates, the two developed together to produce spreadsheet files for the
automatic processing of data, with links to allow them to be printed out in blank so that the computer
data entry files will match the paper data sheets. Imperial College will also provide training in
necessary research techniques: an expected benefit of this project is researchers trained and
experienced in a variety of problem-oriented research techniques, from the trapping, identification and
preservation of insect specimens to the cost-benefit analysis of controls and social science techniques
such as semi-structured interviews and rapid rural appraisal. Dr Murdoch McAllister, an expert in
biometrics and data analysis at Imperial College, has been included in the research team to ensure the
validity of experimental designs and biometric and statistical methods and results.
The research timetable will be anchored by two workshops to assemble all researchers together to
exchange experience, ideas and expertise. The first is provisionally to be in January (or possibly
February) 2002 at IARI, New Delhi, to discuss and refine the research protocol, the second in
February or March 2004 at IIHR, Bangalore, to bring together the research team (with their
specimens for a systematic discussion of incidence and taxonomy), to discuss findings and implications.
The final output will be the synthesis of the outputs of the research into locally-applicable plans for
management of flies at farm or village level, in ways which are effective, economically realistic and
maximally profitable, with minimal costs and insecticide use, and sustainable both environmentally and
socially in the long term.
ACTIVITIES
1.1: Knowledge Review
1.1.1: Incidence mapping of flies and distribution
1.1.2: Tabulation and synthesis of damage and loss records
1.1.3: Review of biological research results
1.1.4: Tabulation and analysis of records of controls
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