Measuring the economic value of redistributing parasitoids for the control of the maize stemborer Busseola fusca Fuller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Kenya
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This study assesses the ex ante economic impact of the establishment of two parasitoids, the
scelionid egg parasitoid Telenomus isis Polaszek from West Africa and a virulent strain of the
braconid larval parasitoid Cotesia sesamiae Cameron from western Kenya, to control
stemborer. Using a Cobb-Douglas production function, it was estimated that yields increased
by 28.5% when pesticides were used to control stemborers. The benefit-cost ratio after the
establishment of the parasitoids ranged from 1:1 to 777:1, with a net present value of up to
US$192 million. The study demonstrates the potential of redistributing parasitoids indigenous
to Africa for the control of African stemborers. Because the benefits of biological control are
positively scale dependent, while the costs are generally scale irresponsive, biological control
programs would accrue more benefits if parasitoids were released to a wider area.