Inauguration of the new Swiss Centre for Locusts and Migratory Pest at FAO headquarters

Rome – The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, inaugurated today the new Swiss Centre for Locusts and Migratory Pest at FAO headquarters.

This is a result of an Agreement signed by FAO and the Swiss Federal Council in December 2019 to refurbish the offices of the FAO’s Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS).

During the inauguration ceremony, the Director-General expressed his appreciation to the Government of Switzerland for their contribution to refurbish these important facilities, referring to the donor as a small country but a big FAO supporter.  

Ambassador Pio Wennubst, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to FAO, who also attended the ceremony, said that Switzerland had always played frontline roles in combating transboundary problems such as the Desert Locust.

The renovated space aims to enhance the collaborative work of DLIS technical officers, and strengthen and broaden the visibility of FAO’s work to control transboundary pests. The Centre boasts state-of-the-art digital technologies for modern communications to facilitate monitoring, analysis, management and coordination activities.

Features include facilities for video-conferencing with partners in the field, the real-time display of current locust and other transboundary plant pest situations, maps, a modern classroom and a library. Additional workstations allow the flexibility to train Members’ experts and practitioners, as well as to rapidly increase technical staff during emergencies.

DLIS and early warning activities

FAO has operated DLIS - a unique monitoring and early warning mechanism in preventing Desert Locust Plagues - since 1978, and is currently establishing early warning systems for the Fall Armyworm (FAW) and Red Palm Weevil.

DLIS manages a network of around 50 countries, which provide field reports and locust observations throughout the year and is constantly innovating and developing new tools for real-time data sharing, dynamic satellite-based products for environmental monitoring, and more precise forecasting.

More recently, DLIS has been considering the potential of drones to improve field monitoring and to make control operations safer, and – with Pennsylvania State University (USA) – exploring the use of artificial intelligence for identifying pests (Locust, FAW and Red Palm Weevil) and damage.

Desert Locust geospatial data, models and analytics, as well as other FAO early warning information, are also federated through the Hand-in-Hand Geospatial platform.