Cactus Pear & Carmine Cochineal: introduction & use in Ethiopia

Cactus pear is traditionally managed & used in Northern Ethiopia. People love to eat fruits but not cultivate it. Fruits are harvested from wild and only care to cactus backyards was fencing. Improved orchard management is not adopted. Increased demand for fruits and would be processing plant might be incentives for intensive management as a crop. Carmine cochineal introduced to Northern Ethiopia a decade ago served farming communities. Foodsafe exported 2000 tons of dried carmine cochineal in 3 years. Conflict of interest among communities led to closure of cochineal business in Ethiopia. But the insect spread and became a pest; biological control might be used to manage increasing populations. Cactus pear invaded more than 32 000 ha of land in Northern Ethiopia, dominated indigenous biodiversity and introduction of carmine cochineal was aimed at management by utilization. Cochineal infestation expanded however with closing of cochineal business. Control options did not work and about 16000 ha of cactus land is infested with cochineal. Harvesting could have generated income for the community and also fetched much needed hard currency for the country.