FAO to assist Madagascar combat Fall Armyworm

26 September 2019, New York – In talks today with Christian Ntsay, Prime Minister of Madagascar, the FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu offered to dispatch a team of FAO experts to assist the country in combatting Fall Armyworm.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Qu noted that containing the spread of Fall Armyworm is both a pest-control management issue as well as a technical one, which requires obtaining the adequate equipment and tools.

Ntsay thanked the FAO Director-General, and expressed his country’s gratitude for the assistance that FAO has provided to Madagascar in dealing with locust infestations.

Their talks also focused on ways to boost Madagascar’s agricultural sectors, with Qu noting the country’s strong potential to develop its rice and aquaculture sectors. The FAO Director-General stressed the need to ensure a move towards value-added agricultural production that can help create jobs for young people.

Qu also outlined FAO’s new Hand-In-Hand Initiative which prioritizes targeted work that benefits people in the world’s most vulnerable regions including small island developing states, least developed and landlocked countries.

Ntsay expressed his interest in the initiative and both parties agreed to explore ways to strengthen their cooperation.