Maize devastated by the pest

In response to the threat of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) and also to improve food and nutritional security in the country, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) approved a new project to improve the Government's and civil society response and containment of the pest.

In this sense, the main objective of the project is to train 250 agrarian technicians from the Government of Mozambique in the identification and integrated management of the pest. These technicians will, in turn, replicate the trainings for 500 extension groups, (about 6 000 households), through the Farmer Field Schools and other participatory extension methodologies.

It is estimated that by the end of the project, scheduled for March 2019, approximately 75,000 families will be indirectly covered (through contacts with extension group members and exposure to other project outputs such as pest evaluation manuals , pamphlets and posters to be produced by FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security - MASA), with emphasis on the participation of women as they are primarily responsible for the production of food crops in the household.

This project follows on from the technical and financial support that FAO has provided to MASA and the working group on the FAW.

To date, FAO's support in combating FAW has included:
• Participation of senior MASA technicians at international and regional technical meetings on FAW;
• Initial assessment of the presence of the pest in the country and subsequent assessments to monitor the presence of the pest;
• Evaluation of the impact of the pest on affected fields to know the pest damage capacity;
• Training of trainers at the national level to combat the plague and organize trainings in the country;
• Training of trainers at the provincial level;
• Elaboration of a roadmap to facilitate quick registration of pesticides;
• Preparation and multiplication of pest sensitization materials;
• Integration of aspects of integrated pest control into project activities implemented by FAO;
• Distribution of pheromone traps to monitor the presence of the pest throughout the country;
• Integration of the country into the regional monitoring system for the presence of the pest implemented by CropWatch;
• Launch of a mobile application for FAW monitoring (FAMEWES).
• Advice to the government and civil society on the pest, its effects and control measures.