草地贪夜蛾防控全球行动

World Food Day in Kenya highlighted the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control

16 November 2021

On World Food Day in Kenya, the farmer field school network organized a field day with a special emphasis on the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control. (Photo © FAO)

 

 

As Kenya marked the 2021 World Food Day, the farmer field school (FFS) network in Bungoma County organized a field day, emphasizing the role of the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control in pest-control training for food crop protection.

At the Mabanga Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) in Bungoma  County, the FFS network presented methodologies for testing and evaluating technologies during the World Food Day event on 16 October 2021. The ATC has set aside five acres of demonstration and evaluation plots for training in management of FAW for the vibrant FFS network of 248 groups with a membership of 7 350 farmers – 4 200 of them being women.

Visitors to the field day were impressed by how the FFS farmers had learned to effectively prevent the spread of FAW and thus, reduced damage to crops and food supplies. The dignitaries who attended the event included Prof. Charles Ngome, Deputy Governor of Bungoma County, who was the chief guest, while other dignitaries included Mr Mathews Chirasha Makanda, County Executive Committee Member for the County Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, and Mr Onesmus Makhanu, County Director of Agriculture. 

The event helped to introduce the Global Action to various stakeholders and underscored Kenya’s commitment to the objectives of the Global Action and to seeing benefits from its global coordination and partnerships. Kenya is one of eight demonstration countries that has been identified for the implementation of FAW control strategies in the region. The other countries are: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Egypt, India, Malawi and the Philippines. More than 50 pilot countries are also being prepared for training in their particular geo-zones.

In Kenya, the next planned activity under the Global Action involves training other farmer groups within the country, and in other geo-zones of East and South African regions, in integrated pest management options for FAW control. 

Kenya’s National Task Force under the Global Action is, in addition to Bungoma County, also partnering with Embu County and a number of other institutions. These institutions include the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Pest Control Products Board (PCPB, and others that are relevant to the implementation of the Global Action in the country. 

The next activities of the Global Action in Kenya in 2021 include the ongoing establishment of demonstration sites in various counties, and the Eastern Africa geo-zone training session planned for 16 November 2021. Through all of this work, five pilot countries in the region will benefit from the experience and knowledge gained in controlling FAW in Kenya.