MED4PEST - MEDiterranean alliance for ecological PEST management

Rodents cause substantial reductions to food production, water supplies, and the economy. They display a wide range of alimentary preferences, which often include grains, fruits, and vegetables, thus making them major agricultural pests. Rodents may eat and spoil food quantities that could feed 280 million people per year globally1. In the Mediterranean region rats are known to attack trees and other crops when they can’t find water, e.g., Carob trees for they are deep-rooted and ‘pump’ water from very deep. Therefore, it is expected that climate change will augment pest problems, further rodents appear to be more adaptable to climate change2, and they are spreaders of many diseases. The economic cost of this is difficult to assess as it includes food and packaging losses, water losses, the cost of cleaning, and the cost of the diseases transmitted. Despite being a major agricultural pest, reliable data on the extent of damage is often missing, while control relies on synthetic rodenticides and trapping, both with insufficient effectiveness. Besides, rodent control expenses are often not considered as pest-induced economic burden, yet are very important in devising a sustainable strategy. Synthetic rodenticides are losing ground for numerous reasons, rats are building up resistance to them, and they can cause adverse effects to non-targeted populations and the environment. Furthermore, regulations are being set to limit their use. However, the rate in which new, safer rodenticides are being made available is very low, due to a fall in the discovery of new active molecules and the increasing costs of registration.

To reach MED4PEST objectives, we will develop and adapt a thorough research design based on a trans-disciplinary effort by partners and stakeholders. The focus is on innovation and action research, establishing proven products and methods through lab and field-pilot testing. We will deploy our methodologies based on an experimental case-study design. Various plants were identified as potential candidates for their bio-rodenticide potential, based on traditional and academic knowledge, though not tested. Therefore, we will do rigorous lab testing to establish results on palatability, efficacy, LD50, non-target harm, and shelf-life. Furthermore, a multitude of EBRM methods have been proven effective in several countries in Asia and Africa, though not piloted in the Mediterranean geography and agroecology. This will be the subject of field testing, both in controlled situations (greenhouses) as well as in pilot farm plots, these will be specified based on farm size and whether they deploy organic or conventional farming. In addition, we will adapt EBRM methods to the Mediterranean socio-economic context and will integrate them with high-tech novel sensory and rodent tracking technologies to assess the levels of rodent damage, habitat use and environmental impact monitoring. Emerging technologies such as compact low-cost radars will also be implemented, combined with infrared cameras in specific living labs in Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Morocco, and Turkey. In summary, we are: (a) Applying modern rodent monitoring techniques based on emerging technologies, sensing and tracking the animals with high precision. (b) Understanding rodent’s behavior in controlled environment and at the field through the pilots, creating new knowledge with regard to, how rodents behave, their mobility patterns, and how they react to external stimuli (noise and EBRM methods). (c) Developing a novel bio- rodenticide, made of botanical plants native to Mediterranean countries. And (d) We intend to facilitate and intensify dialogue among stakeholders to fill data gaps on knowledge and understanding of rodent pest and management using series of systematic Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with the aim of identifying and prioritizing most valued interventions for future science and technology (SI) interventions. We will ensure a gender-sensitive approach throughout this set of activities in particular (d), striving for balanced participation between male and female stakeholders, appreciating their different experiences and perspectives relating to rodent pest issues. And (e) providing a toolkit of EBRM methods, including ‘popular’ knowledge outputs. The project will have a 3-year duration, see Figure 4 for an overview.

- More sustainable agriculture and food production system with more efficient use of natural resources and better climate change resilience, adaptation, and mitigation - Decreasing use of chemical inputs and development of alternative solutions (new bio-based products, new techniques and policies) contribution to the zero-waste farming system - Increasing income of the farmers from biodiversity use, improved farming techniques and improved certification of products - Improved economic and social resilience of Mediterranean smallholder farming systems to climate change; a.o. through engaged youth and empowered women - Preventing the emergence of pest species through improved knowledge and monitoring systems - Improved knowledge on, and access to, eco-friendly rodent management products, services, and technologies