UPSCALING THE BENEFITS OF PUSH-PULL TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION IN EAST AFRICA

Project Information

UPSCALE

Grant agreement ID: 861998

DOI

10.3030/861998

EC signature date 28 April 2020

Start date 1 November 2020

End date 31 October 2025

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 7 655 597,50

EU contribution

€ 7 655 597,50

Coordinated by

JUSTUS-LIEBIG-UNIVERSITAET GIESSEN
Germany

CORDIS provides links to public deliverables and publications of HORIZON projects.

Links to deliverables and publications from FP7 projects, as well as links to some specific result types such as dataset and software, are dynamically retrieved from OpenAIRE .

Deliverables

Documents, reports (9)

Report on the UPSCALE promotion Events and Stakeholder Engagement
Report on ecological spill-over
Report on identity and structure of MACs
Report on push-pull integration in the value chain through transdisciplinary multi-actor involvement
Synthetic review of the options for expansion of push-pull and integration with other crops and practices
Report on socioeconomic, value chain, governance impacts
Report on gendered socioeconomic and policy barriers to push-pull adoption and possible strategies of addressing them
Strategic plan for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building in MACs
Report on effects of upscaling on agricultural effectiveness

Websites, patent fillings, videos etc. (3)

Knowledge Exchange Hub
Updated Knowledge Exchange Hub
Interactive online map to geovisualize push-pull effectiveness

Open Research Data Pilot (1)

Data Management Plan

Other (1)

Smartphone app

Publications

Conference proceedings (18)

From Project interventions to Transformative Impacts: Charting Paths for Sustained Adoption of Agri-Food Innovations

Author(s): Adewole Olagoke, Menale Kassie
Published in: Agri4D 2023 Conference: Building resilient food systems in uncertain times, Issue 26-28 September 2023, 2023
Publisher: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
DOI: 10.22029/jlupub-18455

Tree diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in push-pull systems in western Kenya

Author(s): Elisheba Amolo, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah
Published in: Tropentag Conference, Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation:, Issue Tropen tag Conference 2023, 2023
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10855901

Sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems using push-pull as a template

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah
Published in: """Tropentag Conference Can agroecological farming feed the world? Farmers’ and academia’s views”""", Issue Tropen tag Conference 2022, 2022, Page(s) 98
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10855184

Performance of integrated climate smart push-pull system with pigeon pea as an intensification pathway

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Mary Musyoki, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah (JKUAT)
Published in: Tropentag Conference, Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation:, Issue Tropen tag Conference 2023, 2023, Page(s) 40
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10855211

Harnessing the push-pull technology for biodiverse agroecosystems in East Africa: the UPSCALE project

Author(s): Emily A. Martin
Published in: 6th European Congress of Conservation Biology “Biodiversity crisis in a changing world”, Prague, Czech Republic, Issue August 22–26, 2022, 2022
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.22029/jlupub-18446

From Trialing to Adaptation: Embracing Nuanced Farmers’ Adoption for Agroecological Transitions

Author(s): Adewole Olagoke, Menale Kassie, Shem Kuyah, Saliou Niassy, Kerstin Nolte and Emily A. Martin
Published in: 52nd Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Gfoe), 2023
Publisher: -

Performance of push-pull system under pigeon pea intensification

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah
Published in: BioGeosphere Africa (BioGARD) Conference 2023 14th to 15th September 2023, Issue BioGeosphere Africa (BioGARD)2023, 2023, Page(s) 13
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10854434

The role of multi-actor communities of practice in dissemination of push-pull technology

Author(s): Esther Ngonga, Benjamin Ombok, D. O. Osewe, Fredrick Aila, George Odhiambo, Winnie Oliech, Dennis Mulupi, Cosmas Kiprono
Published in: 18th JKUAT Scientific, Technological and Industrialization Conference and Exhibition, 2024
Publisher: JKUAT

Towards further intensification of push-pull technology with agroforestry.

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah (JKUAT)
Published in: World Congress on Agroforestry, Issue 5th World Congress on Agroforestry Quebec City (18th to 20th July 2022)-, 2022
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10855297

Improve Human, Animal Health, and Food Security Improving Human and Animal Health, and Food Security through Agroecological Practices: A Review Paper

Author(s): Dennis Mulupi, Esther Ng'ong'a, Benjamin Ombok, Winnie Oliech, Cosmas Kiprono, Fredrick Aila, George Odhiambo
Published in: 18th JKUAT Scientific, Technological and Industrialization Conference and Exhibition, 2025
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5326484

Effects of mixed cropping on weeds and crop yield – a meta-analysis

Author(s): """Shem Kuyah(JKUAT), Charles Midega(PHI), Mattias Jonsson(SLU)"""
Published in: """Tropentag Conference Can agroecological farming feed the world? Farmers’ and academia’s views”""", Issue Tropen tag Conference 2022, 2023, Page(s) 53
Publisher: -

Upscaling multi-cropping system of maize-Desmodium spp with vegetables as a sustainable development strategy in agriculture

Author(s): Cosmas Kiprono, George Odhiambo, Barun Ogindo, Fredrick Aila, Benjamin Ombok
Published in: 18th JKUAT Scientific, Technological and Industrialization Conference and Exhibition, 2024
Publisher: JKUAT

Rebuilding soil fertility through crop diversification in smallholder farming systems in western Kenya

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua, Shem Kuyah
Published in: 9th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter, 2024
Publisher: 9th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter

How well do the CORDEX-CORE simulations capture the seasonal variation of rainfall in East Africa?

Author(s): Wilhelm May
Published in: 2025
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4020

Quantifying ecological structure and ecosystem services in farmland

Author(s): Emily Poppenborg Martin
Published in: "Symposium series ""Current Themes in Ecology"" of the Netherlands Ecological Research Network", 2023
Publisher: -

Options for sustainable intensification of smallholder farms in western Kenya

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Shem Kuyah (JKUAT)
Published in: Ecosystem Service Partnership conference, Issue 3rd Ecosystem Service Partnership conference Rwanda, 2022
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10868474

"""Ecosystem Services Within the Vegetable Integrated Push-Pull (VIPPT) Protect Brassicasagainst Diamondback Moth with Improved Yield and Quality"""

Author(s): F. Chidawanyika, J.P. Pittchar, S. Subramanian, Z.R. Khan
Published in: Ninth International Conference on Management of the Diamondback Moth and Other Crucifer Insect Pests, Cambodia, May 2-5 2023, 2023
Publisher: IOBC-Global

The upscaling and out-scaling of ecological intensification: how smallholder farms can inform the science of managing biocontrol at scale

Author(s): Emily A. Martin, Felipe Librán Embid, Adewole Olagoke
Published in: Annual conference of the Gfö, Leipzig Sept 12th-16th 2023, 2023
Publisher: -

Non-peer reviewed articles (1)

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

Author(s): E. Poppenborg Martin, F. Libran Embid, A. Olagoke
Published in: Open Access Government, Issue July 2021, 2021, Page(s) 472-473, ISSN 2516-3817
Publisher: Adjacent Digital Politics Ltd

Peer reviewed articles (22)

Harmonized NDVI time-series from Landsat and Sentinel-2 reveal phenological patterns of diverse, small-scale cropping systems in East Africa

Author(s): Adomas Liepa, Michael Thiel, Hannes Taubenböck, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Itohan-Osa Abu, Maninder Singh Dhillon, Insa Otte, Michael Hilary Otim, Moses Lutaakome, David Meinhof, Emily A. Martin, Tobias Ullmann
Published in: Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, Issue 35, 2024, Page(s) 101230, ISSN 2352-9385
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.rsase.2024.101230

Pigeon pea: A companion crop for boosting maize growth and striga control in push-pull farming systems in Western Kenya

Author(s): Sylvia Buleti, Shem Kuyah, Samuel Were, Moses Gichua
Published in: Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Issue 24, 2025, Page(s) 32-49, ISSN 1561-7645
Publisher: African Journals Online (AJOL)
DOI: 10.4314/jagst.v24i1.3

The role of Multi Actor Communities of practice in dissemination of push-pull technology

Author(s): Esther Ngonga, Benjamin Ombok, D.O. Osewe, Fredrick Aila, George Odhiambo
Published in: Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Issue 23, 2024, Page(s) 166-174, ISSN 1561-7645
Publisher: African Journals Online (AJOL)
DOI: 10.4314/jagst.v23i3.10

Where, When, and Why Do Plant Volatiles Mediate Ecological Signaling? The Answer Is Blowing in the Wind

Author(s): MC Schuman
Published in: Annual Review of Plant Biology, Issue 74, 2023, Page(s) 609-633, ISSN 1543-5008
Publisher: Annual Reviews, Inc.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-040121-114908

Effect of collaboration on financial performance of push-pull technology smallholder farms in western Kenya

Author(s): Oliech, W. A., Ombok, B. O., & Aila, F.
Published in: The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, Issue Vol. 11, Issue 4, 2024, Page(s) 226-335, ISSN 2312-9492
Publisher: strategicjournal.com
DOI: 10.61426/sjbcm.v11i4.3077

An assessment of vegetable production constraints, trait preferences and willingness to adopt sustainable intensification options in Kenya and Uganda

Author(s): Rose N. Okoma, Evanson R. Omuse, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Dennis Beesigamukama, Marius F. Murongo, Sevgan Subramanian, Frank Chidawanyika
Published in: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Issue 9, 2025, ISSN 2571-581X
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1471333

Plant–insect chemical communication in ecological communities: An information theory perspective

Author(s): PJ Zu, R García‐García, MC Schuman, S Saavedra, CJ Melián
Published in: Journal of Systematics and Evolution, Issue 61, 2023, Page(s) 445-453, ISSN 1674-4918
Publisher: Ke xue chu ban she
DOI: 10.1111/jse.12841

Combining Milpa and Push-Pull Technology for sustainable food production in smallholder agriculture. A review

Author(s): Felipe Librán-Embid, Adewole Olagoke & Emily A. Martin 
Published in: Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2023
Publisher: Springer
DOI: 10.1007/s13593-023-00896-7

Impacts of climate-resilient push–pull technology on farmers’ income in selected counties in Kenya and Tanzania: propensity score matching approach

Author(s): Fredrick O. Ouya, Alice W. Murage, Jimmy O. Pittchar, Frank Chidawanyika, John A. Pickett, Zeyaur R. Khan
Published in: Agriculture & Food Security, Issue 12, 2024, ISSN 2048-7010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1186/s40066-023-00418-4

Screening of leaf extraction and storage conditions for eco‐metabolomics studies

Author(s): Jakob Lang, Sergio E. Ramos, Marharyta Smohunova, Laurent Bigler, Meredith C. Schuman
Published in: Plant Direct, Issue 8, 2024, ISSN 2475-4455
Publisher: Wiley
DOI: 10.1002/pld3.578

Earth observations reveal impacts of climate variability on maize cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa

Author(s): Adomas Liepa, Michael Thiel, Hannes Taubenböck, Doris Klein, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters, Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt, Insa Otte, Tobias Landmann, Zeyaur R. Khan, Michael Ochieng Obondo, Frank Chidawanyika, Emily A. Martin, Tobias Ullmann
Published in: GIScience & Remote Sensing, Issue 62, 2025, ISSN 1548-1603
Publisher: V.H. Winston and Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1080/15481603.2025.2476248

Push–Pull Intercropping Increases the Antiherbivore Benzoxazinoid Glycoside Content in Maize Leaf Tissue

Author(s): Jakob Lang, Sergio E. Ramos, Linus Reichert, Grace M. Amboka, Celina Apel, Frank Chidawanyika, Andargachew Detebo, Felipe Librán-Embid, David Meinhof, Laurent Bigler, Meredith C. Schuman
Published in: ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, Issue 4, 2024, Page(s) 1074-1082, ISSN 2692-1952
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.4c00386

Effects of Farmers' Socio-economic Characteristics on Adoption of Push Pull Technology in Western Kenya: Insights from UPSCALE Project

Author(s): Esther Ng'ong'a, Benjamin Ombok, George Odhiambo, Fredrick Aila
Published in: SSRN Electronic Journal, 2025, ISSN 1556-5068
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5325566

Farmers’ perceived pathways for further intensification of push-pull systems in Western Kenya

Author(s): Sylvia Imbuhila Buleti, Shem Kuyah, Adewole Olagoke,Moses Gichua, Samuel Were,Frank Chidawanyika and Emily A. Martin
Published in: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, section Land, Livelihoods and Food Security., Issue Volume 7 - 2023, 2023
Publisher: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Journal
DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1191038

Ecological Chemistry of Pest Control in Push-Pull Intercropping Systems: What We Know, and Where to Go?

Author(s): J Lang, F Chidawanyika, ZR Khan, MC Schuman
Published in: Chimia, Issue 76, 2022, Page(s) 906, ISSN 2673-2424
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2022.906

Are agricultural extension systems ready to scale up ecological intensification in East Africa? A literature review with particular attention to the Push-Pull Technology (PPT)

Author(s): Isgren, E., Clough, Y., Murage, A., Andersson, E.
Published in: Food Security, Issue 15, 2023, Page(s) 1399–1420, ISSN 1876-4517
Publisher: Springer Verlag
DOI: 10.1007/s12571-023-01387-z

Sustainable intensification of vegetable production using the cereal ‘push-pull technology’: benefits and one health implications

Author(s): Frank Chidawanyika, Beatrice Muriithi, Saliou Niassy, Fredrick O. Ouya, Jimmy O. Pittchar, Menale Kassie, Zeyaur R. Khan
Published in: Environmental Sustainability, Issue 6, 2023, Page(s) 25-34, ISSN 2523-8922
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1007/s42398-023-00260-1

Structure, tree diversity, and aboveground carbon stocks of smallholder farms with push-pull technology in western Kenya

Author(s): Elisheba Amolo Imbaya, Shem Kuyah, Moses Gichua, Samuel Were
Published in: Trees, Forests and People, Issue 17, 2024, Page(s) 100645, ISSN 2666-7193
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100645

Climate change and ecological intensification of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa–A systems approach to predict maize yield under push-pull technology

Author(s): Nikolaos Alexandridis, Benjamin Feit, Job Kihara, Tim Luttermoser, Wilhelm May, Charles Midega, Ingrid Öborn, Katja Poveda, Gudeta W Sileshi, Beyene Zewdie, Yann Clough, Mattias Jonsson
Published in: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Issue Volume 352, 15 August 2023, 2023, Page(s) 108511, ISSN 0167-8809
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2023.108511

The role of social-psychological factors in the adoption of push-pull technology by small-scale farmers in East Africa: Application of the theory of planned behavior

Author(s): Denis Waiswa, Beatrice Wambui Muriithi, Alice W. Murage, Dave Mwangi Ireri, Fredah Maina, Frank Chidawanyika, Fahri Yavuz
Published in: Heliyon, Issue 11, 2025, Page(s) e41449, ISSN 2405-8440
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41449

Opportunities for expansion of push-pull technology as an agroecological and sustainable intensification approach in Africa

Author(s): Gudeta W. Sileshi, Shem Kuyah, Meredith C. Schuman, Frank Chidawanyika, Beatrice W. Muriithi, Charles A. O. Midega, Adewole Olagoke, Michael H. Otim, Paramu L. Mafongoya, Emily A. Martin
Published in: npj Sustainable Agriculture, Issue 3, 2025, ISSN 2731-9202
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/s44264-025-00069-x

An Intensified Cereal Push-Pull System Reduces Pest Infestation and Confers Yield Advantages in High-Value Vegetables

Author(s): Frank Chidawanyika, Evanson R. Omuse, Lavender O. Agutu, Jimmy O. Pittchar, Dickens Nyagol, Zeyaur R. Khan
Published in: Journal of Crop Health, Issue 77, 2025, ISSN 2948-264X
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1007/s10343-024-01107-3

Other (6)

1. Maize From Push-Pull Technology (PPT): Can the Produce Be Differentiated?

Author(s): Ngóngá E., Oliech W., Mulupi D., Kiprono C., Aila, F. O. (MU), Ombok, B. O. (MU), Odhiambo, G. D. (MU)
Published in: Social Science Research Network, Issue April 4, 2023, 2023
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4410117 

The Effect of Cropping Systems on component crop productivity and Land Resource Use

Author(s): Cosmas Kiprono, George Odhiambo, Fredrick Aila, Benjamin Ombok
Published in: 2025
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5326548

Screening of leaf extraction and storage conditions for eco-metabolomics studies

Author(s): J Lang, SE Ramos, M Smohunova, L Bigler, MC Schuman
Published in: BioRxiv, 2023
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.26.546251

2. Promoting Conservation Agriculture through Push-Pull Technology as an Agroecological Transition

Author(s): Mulupi D., Ngóngá E., Oliech W., Kiprono C., Aila, F. O. (MU), Ombok, B. O. (MU), Odhiambo, G. D. (MU)
Published in: Social Science Research Network, Issue April 9, 2023, 2023
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4413772

<i>Desmodium</i>Volatiles in “Push-Pull” Cropping Systems and Protection Against the Fall Armyworm,<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>

Author(s): Daria M. Odermatt, Frank Chidawanyika, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Bernhard Schmid, Luiz A. Domeignoz-Horta, Collins O. Onjura, Amanuel Tamiru, Meredith C. Schuman
Published in: BioRxiv, 2025
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.24.604900

Agripreneurship is coming of age. Opportunities for Youth and Women Empowerment in UPSCALE PROJECT.

Author(s): Dennis Kimoso Mulupi, Esther Ng’ong’a, Winnie Oliech, Cosmas Kiprono, Fredrick Aila, Benjamin Ombok, George Odhiambo
Published in: Social Science Research Network, Issue 12 Jul 2023, 2023
Publisher: -
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4500393