A reassessment of the expected development consequences of tsetse control efforts in Africa

Since the World Food Conference (1974) recommended a long term program of tsetse control, increasing attention of governments and international agencies has focused on the problem. This paper briefly outlines the strategies potentially available for tsetse control operations before assessing the likely consequences of any large scale tsetse control endeavor. The implications for both natural and human systems are shown to be profound and, in many cases, counter-productive to development goals. Suggestions for more appropriate strategies of addressing the tsetse issue are included. The major conclusions of the study are: (1) extreme caution is needed in relating the absence of development to the presence of the tsetse fly; (2) promises of benefits forthcoming with the removal of the tsetse fly must be viewed with skepticism; (3) in some cases a case can be made for retaining the tsetse; (4) fly zone problems can be addressed in many ways other than tsetse removal; (5) the regions most likely to incorporate successful tsetse control efforts will be on the margins of tsetse range, removed from border areas beyond the purvey of tsetse control efforts and within the domain of a stable administrative structure capable of mobilizing planning, funding and personnel; (6) it is important to define the targeted human population for the designed development benefits. Different strategies should be employed in virgin lands, places with people lacking livestock experience and places intended for expanding pastoralist rangelands; (7) the push for tsetse eradication arises from its role as a disease vector, its 'non-political' status as a development target and the strong Western bias toward the role of cattle in the modern agricultural mix.