Upscaling the benefits of push-pull technology for sustainable agricultural intensification in East Africa

Push-pull technology is a major discovery with high potential to increase food security and agricultural sustainability in East African smallholder farms. In project UPSCALE, we aim to scale up understanding and applicability of push-pull from individual fields to farm, landscape and regional scales, and from cereal to other crops and cultivation systems. By determining the factors influencing push-pull success across scales, we will enable targeted implementation and prediction of push-pull effectiveness and resilience under current and future climate conditions. Using novel remote sensing methods combined with simulation and empirical approaches, we will develop functional, chemical and sociocultural maps combined with environmental factors for spatial optimization of push-pull expansion at different scales. UPSCALE will test to what extent push-pull systems impact surrounding fields, farms, landscapes and regions, identifying potential feedbacks, non-linearities and socio-economic or ecological thresholds for adoption. Moreover, UPSCALE will explore the options to expand the use of push-pull for sustainable intensification in crops and systems outside cereal in synergy with other tools, and further intensify the system through incorporation of nutritious and high value crops. By harnessing the benefits of push-pull technology across scales and crops, UPSCALE will catalyse the design and widespread implementation of climate smart and environmentally-friendly food production in East Africa and beyond.