From 12 to 16 May 2025, experts from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan conducted a locust cross-border survey over 16 000 hectares (ha) to monitor potential threats to agriculture in border areas. This collaborative effort brought together nine experts from both countries, i.e. four from the Republican Methodological Centre on Phytosanitary Diagnosis and Forecasts, Ministry of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, and five from the Agency for Plant Protection and Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture, Uzbekistan. The first part of the survey held in Kazakhstan was also attended by the FAO Senior Locust Management Expert. The team jointly surveyed both sides of the border, including 7500 ha in Kazakhstan, i.e. in Kazygurt, Saryagash, and Keles districts of Turkestan region, and 8500 ha in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent, Kibray, Bostanlik, Chinaz, Yangiyul, and Zangiata districts of Tashkent region. Based on the survey, no Moroccan locust was observed, but grasshoppers of various instar ages were recorded with average densities of 0.05-01 individuals/m2. Experts from both countries stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation in managing locust threats that can severely impact crops and rural livelihoods. They reaffirmed their commitment to information sharing and continued joint action. The cross-border survey was supported by the project funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and implemented by FAO as part of its Locust Programme in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

A cross-border locust survey took place over 31 000 ha, from 21 to 26 April 2025, involving ten experts from the Plant Protection Service, Ministry of Agriculture of Turkmenistan and from the Agency for Plant Protection and Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan (five persons per country). The first part of the survey was carried out in Turkmenistan, in Khojambas, Farab, Kuytendag, and Darganata districts of Lebap region, covering 7 000 hectares (ha), out of which 3 000 ha were found infested, mainly with Moroccan locust (DMA). DMA hoppers were mainly in their 3rd and 4th instars, with hopper densities ranging from 50–70 individuals/m² (minimum) to 100–150 individuals/m² (maximum), and an average of 90 individuals/m². The large saxaul humpback grasshopper, observed in Darganata, was in 2nd and 3rd instars, with densities ranging from 4 to 10 individuals/m². During the second half of the joint activity, in Uzbekistan, the team surveyed 24 000 ha in Guzar, Dehkanabad, and Nishan districts of Kashkadarya region, as well as Alat and Karakul districts of Bukhara region. In the infested areas, Moroccan locusts were mainly in 5th instar, with a maximum density of 110–140 individuals/m²; large saxaul humpback grasshoppers were in the 2nd and 3rd instars, with a maximum of 6–8 individuals/m². Infested areas on both sides of the border are actively being treated in order to prevent damage to nearby crops and plantations. Turkmen and Uzbek experts maintain regular communication, with a shared commitment to exchange updates and respond promptly to any outbreaks. The survey was covered by the FAO regional project “Improvement of Locust Management (Phase 2)” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as part of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA).”

A training on locust monitoring and information management -including the Automated System for Data Collection (ASDC) and the Caucasus and Central Asian Locust Management System (CCALM)- Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) technology, pesticide risk reduction and biopesticides use was delivered by FAO Experts in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Twenty-eight local experts from 11 locust-affected provinces attended the six-day long theoretical and practical training and participated in lively round-table discussions on all aspects of locust management. In addition to the training materials, all participants received the recently published Moroccan locust in Afghanistan poster (in Dari) and Practical Guidelines on three locust pests in Caucasus and Central Asia - CCA (in English). The training, held on 8-13 February 2025, was supported by the “Project for Improvement of Locust Management” (Phase 2) funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as part of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in CCA”.

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan successfully conducted a locust cross-border survey in their southern common border areas, mainly focusing on the Moroccan Locust. This joint activity took place from 7 to 12 April 2025, with the participation of five locust experts from each country, representing both the central offices and the regions involved, from the State Entity "Locust Control Expedition", Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Tajikistan, and the Agency on Plant Protection and Quarantine, MoA, Uzbekistan. At the time of the survey, Moroccan Locust hatching had been completed, and hoppers were in their first and second instars in the surveyed areas on both sides of the border; the maximum hopper density observed reached 450-550 individuals per square meter. Control operations had already begun in both countries. On 7-9 April, the participants surveyed 43 000 hectares (ha) in the Districts of Republican Subordination and Khatlon region of Tajikistan. Based on the assessment of the situation, the area potentially to be treated in 2025 will be up to 18 000 ha. On 10-12 April, the survey continued over 47 000 ha in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, with an estimated 15 700 ha potentially requiring treatment. The countries agreed to continue information exchange and enhance joint efforts for managing this transboundary pest. This coordinated activity was supported by the "Project for improvement of locust management (Phase 2)" in Central Asia, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in the framework of the FAO Locust Programme in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA). 

A locust training was delivered to the benefit of 17 staff from Kazakhstan, pertaining to the Republican Methodological Center for Phytosanitary Diagnostics and Forecasts, Ministry of Agriculture. Delivered by FAO Experts on 31 March-4 April 2025 in Shymkent, the training focused on bio-ecology of the Moroccan, Italian and Asian Migratory locusts and on the basics of the locust preventive strategy, monitoring, information management -including the use of the Automated System for Data Collection (ASDC) and Caucasus and Central Asia Locust Management System (CCALM). This event was implemented with the financial support of the project funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as part of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)”.

Trainings on locust bioecology, monitoring and information management -including the Automated System for Data Collection (ASDC) and the Caucasus and Central Asian Locust Management System (CCALM), were delivered in Uzbekistan in last February and in Turkmenistan in March, by the national Master-Trainers as part of a Training-of-Trainers approach. In Uzbekistan, locust control -including with Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) technology and biopesticides, as well as pesticide risk reduction, were also addressed. More specifically, in Uzbekistan, four national sessions were conducted by the Master-Trainers of the Agency for Plant Protection and Quarantine (APPQ) to a total of 68 participants, in Karshi on 3-5 February, in Gulistan on 10-12 February, in Fergana on 18-20 February, and in Nukus on 24-25 February. In Turkmenistan, the three training sessions, delivered by the Master-Trainers of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, benefited to 49 staff; they were held in Mary on 3-7 March, in Gyzylarbat districts, Balkan, on 17-18 March and in Bakherden, Akhal on 24-25 March. These trainings are deemed as crucial for capacity strengthening, either as refresher courses or for new staff. They were supported by JICA-funded project GCP/INT/384/JCA, as part of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in CCA”.

On 10-14 March 2025, on-the-job training on monitoring techniques on the impact of locust control on human health and the environment took place in Termez and Surkhandarya region. It was delivered to the members of the Human Health and Environmental Monitoring Team, i.e. five staff of the Agency of Plant Protection and Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture, Uzbekistan, by the FAO Environmental Expert. The Team was set up for the first time during the 2024 locust campaign. At the onset of the 2025 one, this training allowed field practice regarding pesticide application and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for pesticide risk reduction including in beekeeping zones, incident response simulation, environmental impact analysis, and filling of Pesticide Use Passport by staff involved in locust control. Over the past years, similar support was provided to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in the framework of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)”, with a view to improve locust control and support pesticide risk reduction. The recent on-the-job training in Uzbekistan was more specifically provided thanks to the project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The sixth annual regional Workshop on locust data collection, analysis, forecast and reporting in CCA took place online on 13 March 2025, gathering up more than 50 experts from CCA countries and FAO. After a presentation made by each country on the use of the Automated System for Data Collection (ASDC) during the 2024 campaign, including challenges met and solutions, discussions concerned a number of topics related to the improvement of ASDC and the Geographic Information System (GIS) “Caucasus and Central Asia Locust Management System (CCALM)”. They included: the testing of ASDC beta-version with new third Human Health and Environmental Monitoring Form; the synchronization of locust survey data between the CCALM and the Russian, Kazakh and Uzbek locust GIS; CCALM use for analysis of locust density in the mark points, as well as for inserting maps in the monthly bulletins on locust and anti-locust situations; and recommendations for 2025. This workshop was held thanks to support from the regional project funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Three national training sessions were held in December 2024/January 2025 to the benefit of 57 specialists from the central office, regional and district branches of the State Entity "Locust Control Expedition" (SE-LCE), Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan. Organized in Sughd and Khatlon regions and in the Districts of the Republican Subordination (DRS), the training focused on Moroccan and Italian Locusts biology, field surveys, information management using the FAO Automated System of Data Collection (ASDC), locust spraying techniques, pesticide risk reduction, and use of biopesticides. The sessions were delivered by SE-LCE Master-Trainers (MTs), who had previously benefited from the Training-of-Trainers (ToT) regional sessions conducted by FAO experts. During the training, participants gained essential knowledge on more effective and safer locust management. The presentation on the use of biopesticides against locusts, which was operationally used for the first time in Tajikistan in 2024, received particular high attention from the participants. These training sessions were organized in the framework of the FAO regional Programme “Improvement national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)” and more specifically of the project "Improvement of Locust Management (Phase 2)," funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

These Practical Guidelines on three locust pests in CCA have recently been published in English in addition to several other languages, namely Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian, Tajik and Turkmen. The guidelines provide detailed information on the biology, ecology and behaviour of three species of locust pests in CCA – the Italian, Moroccan and the Asian Migratory Locusts. They give comprehensive yet accessible information not only for locust control and plant protection specialists in the CCA countries, but also for researchers, students, and the widest range of readers. The guidelines are divided into several parts. The first three are devoted to general issues of biology, ecology, phase variability, life cycle and behaviour of locust pests. The next three deal separately with each of the three locust species in CCA. The Guidelines end with an annotated list of the most important publications on these harmful locusts. These practical guidelines were prepared in the framework of the interregional and multi-funded "Programme to improve national and regional locust management in CCA".