Global Action for FAW Control annual meetings
Regions met to review progress in demonstration and pilot countries and to prepare for the next year.
All demonstration and first-line pilot countries participating in the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control (GA) in Asia and the Near East North Africa (NENA), as well as Africa, gathered for their annual meetings in December 2021.
In each of two meetings, demonstration countries shared results and achievements from 2021 and discussed progress as well as the way forward. The eight demonstration countries are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malawi and the Philippines.
In 2022, countries will finalise their integrated pest management (IPM) packages and translate these into action. Additionally, technologies must be scaled up for prevention, early warning and IPM, especially through field demonstrations.
Fall armyworm (FAW), a dangerous transboundary pest, has spread rapidly around much of the globe, and farmers need significant support to manage FAW sustainably in their cropping systems through IPM. FAO launched the GA in December 2019 as a response to the international threat that FAW is posing for food security and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.
During the annual meeting for Africa held on 9 December 2021, Executive Director of the FAW Secretariat Xia Jingyuan said positive field results had been reported during 2021, despite numerous challenges, including those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its limits on travel and gatherings. In 2022, an emphasis will be put on IPM, especially through field demonstrations, and technical support is needed across the countries. He said that resource mobilization, including both financial and technical, are critically important to the success of the GA work, and communication and outreach should be emphasized to show the GA’s good results.
During the annual meeting for Asia and the Near East North Africa (NENA) on 13 December 2021, Xia said the economic benefits of FAW control are very clear, and reductions in damage also bring social benefits. Ecological benefits are realized through reduced use of hazardous chemicals. More use of biocontrol methods is also critically important