The study “Valuing disaster prevention: Desert locust monitoring and control” has revealed economic and health value of one of the earliest and longest-running disaster monitoring systems specifically, for the desert locust. The desert locust is one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests. Researchers found that monitoring systems do far more than track insects, they protect livelihoods, child health and national economies.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys, BMSB) has become a major concern for farmers due to its highly invasive nature, broad host range, and ability to cause significant economic losses. This pest attacks more than 300 plant species, including fruit crops, vegetables and ornamental plants, resulting in substantial yield reductions and deterioration in product quality. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) facilitated a regional workshop aimed at developing a regional framework to strengthen the prevention, monitoring, and management of BMSB across the Caucasus region.

Plant health and public health are essential to economic stability, food security, and human well-being. In today’s interconnected world, outbreaks of human diseases prompt urgent, coordinated global responses. Yet outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, though equally disruptive, often receive far less urgency and attention. This article examines the differences in how human disease outbreaks and crop health emergencies are managed, exploring the distinct pathways to response, containment, and recovery.

The newly released eLocust4 tool is designed to help national Survey and Control Officers in locust-affected countries collect and transmit field data to their national locust centres in near real time via satellite.

eLocust4 is a fully satellite-based field data collection system that enables officers to send critical information directly from remote desert areas, even where mobile network coverage is unavailable.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has expressed its commitment to support Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in tackling the threat of cocoa swollen shoot virus (CSSV). The viral disease continues to undermine cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production across West Africa, the world’s most important cocoa-growing region. CSSV is an endemic pathogen that causes significant economic losses in the cocoa sector, which is a major source of income for millions of people in West Africa.

The farmer field schools (FFS) approach, adopted by women and young farmers in the Kabuchai sub-County, is helping to sharpen their skills and knowledge, enabling them to adopt more sustainable farming practices. The FAO–China South-South Cooperation (SSC) project on fall armyworm is implementing a hands-on learning model that is helping the farmers in the cultivation of maize, beans, vegetables, and sweet potatoes. 

Wheat blast has recently appeared in Bangladesh and Zambia, raising fears of further expansion in Asia and Africa. Originally only in South America, studies warn that countries with limited surveillance and biosecurity systems are particularly at risk, as early detection and containment remain challenging. If left unchecked, wheat blast can cause severe yield losses, sometimes wiping out entire fields under favourable conditions. Sustained and expanded collaboration and investment are more important for addressing the problem.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has delivered essential farm inputs to maize farmers in Bungoma County participating in the field-based learning and demonstration trials under farmer field schools (FFS) approach.  Farmers are acquiring innovative skills for the management of fall armyworm (FAW).

Bishkek. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted a regional training course on the use and maintenance of ultra-low-volume (ULV) sprayers for locust control for ten locust and plant protection specialists from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, from 24 to 26 February 2026. The theoretical sessions were also delivered online, enabling additional experts from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to participate remotely. The training was conducted with the financial support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Ultra-low-volume spraying technology is internationally recognized as  an effective method  for locust control. It allows for the application of  small quantities of pesticide typically one  litre per hectare without the need to  dilute the product in water. This  approach is particularly suitable in arid  and semi-arid areas, where access to water is limited.

The first drone pilot training programme aims to strengthen national and regional capacities in the application of unmanned aerial systems for surveillance, monitoring and control of desert locust populations. It marks a significant step forward in integrating advanced digital and precision agriculture technologies into locust management operations.