The main source of income for up to 9000 smallholders in northern Malawi is coffee, yields of which are affected by insect pests, namely white stem borer (Monochamus leuconotus) and green scale (Coccus alpinus), and diseases – coffee berry disease (Colletotrichum kahawae) and leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Economic liberalisation in Malawi has removed subsidies from inputs and without credit schemes from the Smallholder Coffee Authority the use of commercial pesticides and fertiliser on coffee by smallholders has declined. Smallholder coffee in Malawi has been of high quality and if this can be maintained, there is potential for increased productivity. Pest and disease management will be an important part of the improved management systems which will be needed if coffee yields are to increase. This paper describes the main pest management problems facing smallholders and some of the management options available to them using data collected in a survey of smallholder coffee, conducted as part of a project to collect baseline data for the development of an IPM programme.
