In Bhairab, Kishoreganj, light trap technology is being used in farmers' fields with the agriculture department's help to identify harmful and beneficial insects. On the night of Monday, 10 October, the traps were set in transplanted Aman fields in various blocks of seven unions, including Kalikaprasad, Gazaria, Sadekpur and Shimulkandi.

According to the upazila agriculture office, irregular and excessive pesticide use is killing beneficial insects along with pests, unbalancing the field ecosystem, which could cause a major disaster for agriculture in future. Identifying insects before taking action makes light traps very important, and the technology is being used to keep farmers from spraying pesticides based only on assumptions.

Bhairab upazila agriculture officer Aklima Begum said the light traps show which harmful and beneficial insects are present in rice fields, and farmers are advised on controlling the harmful ones. The office encourages farmers to apply pesticide only after harmful insects are found, which will reduce production costs and unnecessary pesticide use and let farmers harvest poison-free crops.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.