This Project Grant award of $142,914 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program will support the Agricultural Extension Service in Puerto Rico to enhance collaboration with the U.S. Virgin Islands. The project aims to address the needs of smallholder farmers impacted by extreme weather events, pest outbreaks, and emerging invasive pests that threaten crop production and food security.
Key activities include conducting surveys, trainings, workshops, field days, and farm demonstrations to transfer integrated pest management (IPM) information to growers. This will involve educating farmers on pest identification, monitoring, available management practices, pesticide use, and farm biosecurity. An educational video will also be produced to provide high tunnel producers with guidance on design and construction to minimize pest and disease issues. Additionally, the project will establish an IPM webpage to inform farmers of current pest status. Overall, the goal is to increase adoption of sustainable IPM practices for vegetables, plantains, bananas, and other key crops across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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