Hanoi, Viet Nam – FAO in Viet Nam, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), hosted a conference to summarize the achievements of the FAO technical support on Scaling up the sustainable management of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Viet Nam project, funded by European Union.

The conference was co-chaired by Vice Minister of MARD and FAO Representative in Viet Nam to review the progress to date of the project and lessons shared among participants from the Plant Protection Department, National Centre for Agricultural Extension, Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Plant Protection Research Institute and the Maize Research Institute and many related representatives at provincial level.

FAW has caused significant damage since its first appearance in Viet Nam in 2019. The FAO Director-General launched the Global Action for FAW control in 2019 with three key objectives: to enhance global coordination and collaboration on FAW control, reduce crop yield losses caused by FAW and avoid risk of further spread of FAW to new areas.

Following FAO’s appeal, EU decided to fund the project “Scaling-up the sustainable management of the Fall Armyworm” (GCP/GLO/220/EC) in the 2021 – 2023 period, which is aimed to quickly address FAW in order to improve food security and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, reduce environmental pollution through management and control of FAW, and raise awareness on gender equality and youth concerns.

Viet Nam’s response to the threat which has a key focus on capacity building of agricultural officers and farmers' organizations to respond to the arrival of the pest. In particular, cultivation habits of farmers are examined to avoid incorrect usage of chemical pesticides in the field. Viet Nam is a pilot country for Global Action on FAW control (2020–2023) as well as supporting regional initiatives such as the Regional IPM Package on FAW and ASEAN Action Plan on FAW.