Fall armyworm monitoring and forecasting training through South-South Cooperation
China uses radar technology to identify insects (Photo ©FAO)
Technical training in monitoring and forecasting of fall armyworm (FAW), prediction modelling, and forecasting was part of a recent workshop with participants from China, Ghana, and Kenya under the project "Strengthening inter-regional cooperation for sustainable management of fall armyworm through South-South Cooperation (SSC)".
Chinese specialists shared knowledge and experiences in coping with FAW during the workshop, held 30 June to 7 July 2024 in Sanya, China. The event was jointly hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The workshop was designed to promote international cooperation in the sustainable control of FAW and strengthen coordination and collaboration between Ghana, Kenya, CAAS and the Institute of Plant Protection of CAAS (IPPCAAS) through implementation of the SSC project.
National plant protection officers from Kenya and Ghana, and officers from FAO and China, reviewed FAO’s FAW Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS), including potential to accommodate prediction modelling. A similar FAW monitoring and early warning system used in China was also presented. It involves a combination of data sets obtained from scanning insect radar or vertical looking insect radar (VLR), high altitude searching light, and sex pheromone traps.
Workshop participants learned about FAW ovarian dissection technology and using artifical intelligence technologies to identify FAW. Migration trajectory simulation and analysis was presented, using numerical meteorological data, insect flying altitude and calculations of take off and landing points at various times. Principles and application of the FAW dynamic prediction model were discussed, including the pest’s wide host range, its extensive damaging period, ability to migrate long distances, short generation time and high fecundity.
The workshop also included a field visit to an insect radar monitoring site in Yazhou, where participants discussed data collection.
China has advanced technology for FAW monitoring and forecasting, which it is expected to share under the SSC project with Kenya and Ghana, and its prediction model for the insect pest will be adapted to the African context.