The next Technical Workshop on Locusts in CCA will be hosted in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in November 2024, for the first time since Programme start. It will gather the countries participating in the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)” as well as observers, in addition to the FAO organizers. The Workshop will allow discussing the lessons learnt from the 2024 national anti-locust campaign and preparation of the next one, the implementation of the Programme in 2024 and workplan for 2025, the latest developments regarding the Geographic Information System (GIS) entitled “Caucasus and Central Asia Locust Management System” (CCALM), the use of biopesticides for locust control; the use of drones and new technologies in locust management, risk reduction associated with locust control operations, and future priorities for the Programme. This event is possible thanks to the financial support of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

With the objective to support regional cooperation in Central Asia and promote exchange of experience, a country-to-country visit was organized for three Kyrgyz experts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 25 27 September 2024. The Kyrgyz experts, from the Department of Chemicalization, Plant Protection and Quarantine (DCPPQ), Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, visited the Agency on Plant Protection and Quarantine (APPQ), Ministry of Agriculture, Uzbekistan. The visit started with a meeting with the management of APPQ and of the Scientific Research Institute for Plant Protection and Quarantine of APPQ. During the two first days, the experts visited the facilities of the Institute and were informed on its history, achievements, ongoing work and future plans. Presentations and demonstrations addressed bio-ecology and spread areas of locusts and grasshoppers in Uzbekistan, natural enemies, sampling and storing for further studies. The visit to other units of the Institute was also organized, such as the research lab on the pests of pastures, fodder and oil seed crops, as well as medicinal plants, and the bio-factory, where various entomophagous insects are reared. One day was spent in the field allowing to demonstrate and discuss locust survey methods, data collection and sampling, including using ASDC and CCALM, as well as the national locust GIS; and show spraying equipment and insecticides used against locusts by APPQ.

On 5 September, during the International Forum on Landlocked Developing Countries’ Food Security and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, a side-event was held on “Sustainable locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia: innovations and the way forward”. This hybrid side-event (in-person and online) provided the opportunity to present experiences, especially good practices for locust management, in particular in the CCA region, to promote locust preventive control strategy - which includes innovative geospatial tools for monitoring and early warning systems, as well as effective and sustainable control techniques, and to advocate for sustained funding and regional cooperation for locust management in CCA. Interventions were made on experience and future prospectives for locust management in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, in addition to a FAO presentation on “Locusts in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA): the threat and way towards sustainable management”. A presentation was also delivered by an Uzbek expert on the threat raised by the Saxaul Humpback grasshoppers in Uzbekistan as well as neighbouring countries Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

An overall area of 1600 ha was treated with the biopesticide Metarhizium acridum in May/July 2024 in Uzbekistan, including in the Republic of Karakalpakstan (800 ha), Bukhara (300 ha), Navoi (300 ha) and Khorezm (200 ha) regions. Treatments occurred mostly in ecologically sensitive areas, including in the Aral Sea region and on Saxaul plantations, against 2-3rd instars of Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus) –200 ha– and 3rd instars of Large and Small Saxaul Humpback grasshoppers (Dericorys albidula and Dericorys annulata) –1400 ha. Based on the preliminary results, the field efficiency reached 89% against the Italian locust and 93-98% against the Saxaul Humpback grasshoppers, 10 to17 days after the treatment. In cages, mortality was of 100% after 8-12 days. It should be noted that in 2023, regional demonstration of biopesticides against the Moroccan locust (Dociostaurus maroccanus) and Italian locust were held in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan, and Kakheti, Georgia, which showed high efficiency and promising results. On this basis, several Caucasus and Central Asian countries expressed interest in conducting national trials and demonstrations in 2024. FAO delivered to that end biopesticides Metarhizium acridum to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (10kg each for demonstration purpose) as well as to Uzbekistan (80 kg for operational use).  This was done in the framework of the FAO Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA), with the support of the regional FAO Project “Improvement of Locust Management (Phase 2)" funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

On 16-18 July 2024, a National Contingency Plan Workshop was organized in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, acting as a pilot country for this activity in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA). The scope of the workshop was to develop such plan as a methodological and practical tool for managing locust-related risks at the national level. More specifically, the plan should help managing locusts with two main objectives: prevent emergencies/crises; and in case they occur, be able to respond timely and adequately to such crises. It is based on the core principle that various locust situations, corresponding to various scenarios, require different responses, which need to be identified in advance in order to be timely and adequately implemented. In this respect, the document includes a Locust prevention contingency plan and a Locust emergency contingency plan. Participants in the workshop were the national and international entities involved in locust management in Tajikistan. i.e. primarily the management and senior staff of the State Entity “Locust Control Expedition” (SE-LCE), together with representatives from the line Ministry of Agriculture, as well as of other national and international entities which play or may be called to play a role in supporting locust management, especially during locust emergencies. The next step includes the finalization of the plan in view of its further approval and implementation. The Workshop was organized as part of the FAO Locust Programme in CCA, with the support of the regional project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

On 2-5 June 2024, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Shandong Province of China convened an International Conference on “New Technology and Concept for Sustainable Management of Locusts and Grasshoppers”, which attracted about 100 participants. Upon the invitation from the Organizing Committee, the FAO Senior Locust Management Expert delivered a keynote presentation entitled “FAO Locust Programme in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA): challenges and way forward”, sparking great interest among the audience. Locust managers and researchers from Xinjiang, a northwestern Chinese province bordering Kazakhstan where the Italian locust is prevalent, were particularly interested in the Automated System of Data Collection (ASDC) and the Caucasus and Central Asia Locust Management System (CCALM). During the conference, the attendees also learned from the Chinese speakers about ecological transformations of wetlands inhabited by Oriental Migratory locust into wheat growing areas and shrimp producing ponds as well as about Chinese experience in locust biological control. The Academy is one of the leading agricultural research organizations in China dealing with locust management.

Treatments with the biopesticide Metarhizium acridum were carried out in Kyrgyzstan against the Italian Locust, for the first time ever in the country, during the national demonstration conducted by FAO in late May/June 2024. Trials were carried out on 22-24 May in Panfilov district, Chui region, against first instar hoppers over 20 hectares (two plots of 10 hectares each). Theoretical presentations and on-the-job training were also delivered at this occasion to the benefit of 15 staff from the Department of Chemicalization, Plant Protection and Quarantine (DCPPQ), Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry (MWRAPI), mainly as well as from the National Academy of Sciences. A representative from the Kazakh Research Institute of Plant Protection and Quarantine also joined the event. This field demonstration was followed by a round table held on 5 June to review the achieved results, lessons learnt and recommendations as well as peculiarities of biopesticides use in locust control. It was organized by FAO in Bishkek and  gathered 20 persons representing the MWRAPI and other national stakeholders, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, the Ministry of Health, the National Academy of Sciences and the Kyrgyz National Agricultural University, as well as representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in addition to FAO experts. The results of the treatments with biopesticides were excellent: nearly 100 % mortality was recorded after 11 days in cages. The event was possible thanks to the support of the regional JICA-funded project implemented as part of the FAO Locust Programme in Caucasus and Central Asia. Overall, in the framework of the Programme, support has been provided to promote the use of biopesticides in seven countries during the 2024 campaign.  

Over 19 000 hectares were jointly surveyed in border areas, from 27 May to 01 June 2024 by 11 Kyrgyz and Uzbek locust experts, from the Department on Chemicalization, Plant Protection and Quarantine (DCPPQ), Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan (five staff), and the Agency on Quarantine and Plant Protection (AQPP), Ministry of Agriculture, Uzbekistan (six staff). The cross-border survey covered border districts in Osh (Aravan and Nooket districts), Batken (Kadamjay district) and Jalal-Abad regions (Aksy, Nooken and Suzak districts) in Kyrgyzstan as well as Andijan (Khojaabad, Marhamat, Bulakbashi, Kurganteppa and Pakhtaabad districts), Namangan (Chartak, Uychinsk, Uchkurgan, Yangikurgan and Chust districts) and Ferghana region (Ferghana, Kuva, Kuvasay districts) in Uzbekistan. During the survey, no Moroccan locust (DMA) was observed in the border areas, however on the Kyrgyz site in Aravan, Osh region, Italian locust (CIT) as well as grasshoppers (Kadamjay. Batken region) were observed over an area of 100 hectares with a density of CIT hoppers of 2-4 individuals/m2 and of grasshopper hoppers of 5 10 individuals/m2. It was agreed to conduct chemical treatment of these infested areas in order to prevent further spread. The countries' participants agreed to continue sharing information and close cooperation to protect crops and pastures from locust threat, especially in border areas. This cross-border survey was the fourth in a row involving Uzbekistan with its neighboring countries during the 2024 locust campaign. It was held within the FAO Locust Programme in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA), with the financial support of the regional project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

On 7 June, agriculture ministers from the five Central Asian countries came together at a virtual meeting to discuss sustainable locust management at the national and regional levels. The meeting was hosted by Kazakhstan and facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The goal was to strengthen cross-border and long-term regional cooperation and to share experience, knowledge and lessons learned from locust campaigns. The meeting covered advanced approaches to improving country capacities and supporting a preventive approach for better locust management and the reduction of risks related to locust outbreaks. This includes the use of monitoring systems, in particular the Geographic Information System developed by FAO, as well as more efficient and safer locust control, such as the Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) technology for locust spraying and use of biopesticides. At this occasion, countries’ representatives acknowledged the positive impact on regional cooperation, capacity strengthening and introduction of best practices and new tools of the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)”, with the support provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). They called for even more cooperation and for the active introduction and use of modern methods and technologies towards sustainable locust management. Reducing the impacts of locust control on food security and livelihoods while limiting the risks to human health and the environment are key to ensuring better production and a better environment.

From 13 to 18 May 2024, twelve experts, six from the Plant Protection Service, Ministry of Agriculture of Turkmenistan, and six from the Agency for Quarantine and Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, conducted a locust cross-border survey in Lebap region (Khojambas, Farab and Kuytendag districts) in Turkmenistan, as well as Kashkadarya (Guzar, Dehkanabad and Nishan districts) and Bukhara regions (Alat and Karakul districts) in Uzbekistan. The survey covered a total of 42 500 hectares (ha), including 18 500 ha on the Turkmen side and 24 000 ha on the Uzbek one. Fifth instar hoppers of Moroccan locusts , with density from 8 to 15 individuals/m2, and large saxaul humpback grasshoppers, with density from 6 to 10 individuals/m2, were observed on both sides of the border. To combat this threat, both countries had already initiated chemical treatments in the affected border areas. Specialists from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have established close contacts to exchange information on locust situation and ongoing control measures, with an agreement to promptly inform each other about outbreaks or emergencies. Their joint efforts aim to safeguard crops, pastures and saxaul plantations. The survey was conducted in the framework of the regional FAO Project “Improvement of Locust Management (Phase 2)" with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).