Coordinated action is key to defeating Fall Armyworm

20 July, 2020, Rome - Increased coordination and cooperation and flexible, innovative approaches are necessary to address the global challenges we currently face, including Fall Armyworm.

Addressing participants at the second meeting of the Steering Committee on Fall Armyworm Control, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stressed the need for consensus, innovation and early action in the response against the destructive pest. 

“Since our last Steering Committee meeting in February, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased risks to all aspects of global well-being, including public health, livelihoods and food security,” he said. “In the meantime, fall armyworm continues to spread.” The pest has most recently been confirmed in Australia and the United Arab Emirates. 

The Director-General called for a Timetable that contains a countdown to specific dates for the various action items required. Concrete action was needed to control the spread, Qu stressed, noting that even as FAO worked to manage the impacts of COVID-19, it had also redoubled its efforts to mobilize for a globally coordinated Fall Armyworm response, filling close to 20 percent of the estimated funding gap.

Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a moth native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas that has now spread globally. In its caterpillar stage, it can cause significant damage to plants. It prefers maize but also feeds on more than 80 other crops, including wheat, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. 

Regional coordination would be especially important to guarantee concrete results on the ground, Qu said, encouraging those gathered at today’s meeting to embrace both new technologies and traditional models for a response that would reflect the cultural and economic diversity of the areas affected by the pest.

The Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control was launched in December 2019 to provide a platform for global, regional and national collaboration in monitoring, early warning and integrated pest management (IPM) technologies, with the goal of reducing yield losses and lowering the risk of further spread. It targets 65 priority countries in Asia and Africa but will benefit all countries affected by the pest.

In collaboration with partners, FAO has developed knowledge products such as technical guidelines, videos, training and webinars to help implement the Global Action at country level. In the first six months of 2020, more than 3 500 fields had been scouted and nearly 3 400 traps checked and reported through the Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS). The data are hosted on the FAMEWS global platform, where they can be accessed by visitors and used to develop further early warning systems.

The draft work plan presented today envisages an inventory of safe, effective Fall Armyworm control options and a package of integrated pest management options available for use by September 2020.