ADOPT (Adaptation and Dissemination of the ‘Push-Pull’ Technology), funded by the European Union, focuses on crops grown in dry areas (e.g. sorghum and millet), and trap and intercrops adapted to dry and hot conditions. New trap and intercrops with adaptation to dry and hot conditions will be identified and integrated as a component companion crops to be utilized in the Push-Pull technology.

These new companion plants will be selected for correct chemistry in terms of stemborer attractancy and repellency and striga suppression properties in addition to their ability to improve soil fertility, moisture retention and organic matter. An important factor that has to be taken into consideration will be obtaining sufficient biodiversity of potential alternative plants for use in an adapted push-pull system to maximise chances of success and to deliver all the benefits of the current system.
icipe will work closely with Rothamsted Research to understand the chemical ecology of new drought-tolerant companion plants for their deployment in push-pull strategies and to assess the quality and quantity of physiologically active compounds in the volatiles emitted by, and in the root exudates of these plants under different agro-ecologies.

In order to achieve the objectives, icipe will work with African organisations, both research and extension partners: The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Lake Zone Agricultural Research and Development Institute (LZARDI) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) will be involved in technology adaptation, expansion and dissemination. Heifer Project International (HPI) in Kenya and Tanzania will provide expertise in crop-livestock integration, including capacity building on utilization of the fodder component of the push-pull technology. The Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) in Ethiopia, and HPI will be instrumental in technology expansion and dissemination, particularly farmer mobilization and training.