FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

MEDIA ADVISORY: Asia's Alien War on Fall Armyworm

UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization convenes meeting of countries affected

13/03/2019 

Where: Sukosol Hotel, Bangkok (open to media)

When: 20 – 22 March 2019

Who’s affected (so far): Thailand, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China

Summary:

A plant pest alien to Asia is sweeping across the continent causing serious damage to crops and livelihoods.

The Fall Armyworm (FAW) was first confirmed outside of its native Americas in Africa in early 2016. Since then it has spread rapidly across Sub-Saharan Africa, infesting tens of millions of hectares of maize, sorghum and millet. Now it’s in Asia – and in a big way.

In mid-2018 Fall Armyworm arrived in India and has continued to spread quickly. By the end of last year, there were reports of infestations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and by mid-January further reports emerged of FAW’s presence in Thailand and Myanmar.  It is also confirmed in China.

FAO is convening a meeting of officials from the affected countries, as well as experts who’ve been tackling the fallout of FAW in Africa and Latin America – and who have been learning ways to get FAW under control.

The consultation is open to the media. RSVP in advance would be appreciated. Interviews with experts can be arranged. More information and links on the conference can be found on this landing page.

Contact: Allan Dow, FAO Regional Communication Officer (Asia-Pacific) [email protected] or phone 02 697 4126 – 081 899 7354

The content is not available.