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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
Ryan Truscott

Butterfly farming boosts biodiversity and incomes on São Tomé

São Tomé is home to at least 116 species of butterfly. Twenty-two species have been selected for possible breeding. AFP - PEDRO PARDO

Conservationists on São Tomé, a tropical island that is home to a rich diversity of plants, birds and butterflies, have launched a project to help local farmers breed butterflies to boost incomes and incentivise the protection of the island’s forests.

Under a pilot project three farmers on the island, located around 200 kilometres off the coast of West Africa, will produce nearly 10,000 chrysalids per year for sale to collectors in Europe, said Julie Courret, BirdLife International's head of projects in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.

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