Kenya national technical team developing work plan, budget, IPM guide for FAW control
Kenya’s National Technical Team (NTT) for the Global Action on Fall Armyworm (FAW) Control has been established with 17 members from the public and private sectors, research organizations, academia, farmer organizations, and FAO. The technical team was established by the Ministry of Agriculture in consultation with FAO Country Office, and reports to the Kenya National Task Force (NTF), which is working to control FAW. Most of the technical team members were selected from the Multi-Institutional Technical Team (MITT), which guides the management of plant protection interventions in Kenya.
The NTT immediately began work by appointing from among its team members a smaller Technical Working Group (TWG) of nine people to lead the formulation of a two-year work plan and budget, as well as the development of an integrated pest management (IPM) guide that is relevant for the East African geo-zone. All three of these outputs – the workplan, the budget and the IPM Guide – have gone through a series of reviews with the latest at a workshop organized by the TWG and held in Nakuru, Kenya from 25 to 28 May 2021. The documents are at an advanced stages of completion and will be circulated to the pilot counties designated under the Global Action for regionalization.
The TWG has identified Bungoma and Embu as the two counties that will host the first demonstration plots, the evaluation of technologies, and technical training sessions under the Global Action in the country. A draft regional IPM package has been developed, and the first five IPM options identified for demonstration by both small- and large-scale production farms. The NTT has developed a short video on the impact of FAW and the Global Action intervention at smallholder farm.
Based on the work of the NTT, the Kenya National Task Force is expected to validate the multiple documents and planning related to the implementation of the Global Action. The evaluation protocols for the first five technologies to be implemented will also be developed in preparation for training sessions and scaling up for pilot countries. It’s expected that other technologies will be implemented progressively during the two-year period.
The institutions represented on the NTT are: State Department for Crops Development and Agricultural Research, Kenya Ministry of Agriculture; State Department for Livestock Production, Ministry of Agriculture; Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS); Pest Control Products Board (PCPB); Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO); University of Nairobi (UoN); Joint Agriculture Sector Intergovernmental Secretariat Committee (JASCOM); Agrochemical Association of Kenya (AAK); Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI); International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe); Cereal Growers Association (CGA); Seed Traders Association of Kenya (STAK); The Real IPM Company Limited; Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK; United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF); and FAO.