Fall armyworm

Two years after an intense drought caused by El Niño which affected more than 40 million people and caused a cereal deficit of 9 million tons, the African southern region is facing a new plague that threatens to devastate the crops of the region's farmers.

It is an invasive worm called the fall armyworm common in the countries of South America, recently diagnosed in African continent. Nigeria was the first African country to detect the pest in January 2016, following Central Africa in April of that year and southern Africa in early 2017.

After having been detected in countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland and Tanzania, its occurrence in Mozambique was confirmed in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Manica, Tete, Niassa and Zambézia.

The pest has the potential to cause considerable crop damage in some countries in the region, threatening to reduce the expected production outlook for the current crop year.

Maize, the most important food crop in the region, is the most affected, thus compromising food security of families, but other cereals such as the sorghum and wheat are also being attacked.

In order to face the spread of this pest, FAO in Mozambique has provided funds to support Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA) in pest tracing in suspected areas.

At regional and international level, technical meetings are being held between national pest and disease control authorities and international technical institutions aiming at planning a comprehensive intervention strategy and identifying the support needs of countries.

At the same time, FAO has been supporting countries in assessing the current situation in order to understand the level and intensity of the fall armyworm threat and to identify sustainable solutions to control the spread of the pest.

For the FAO technique responsible for Production and Plant Protection, Joyce MulilaMitti "no country is safe, all countries are at risk and it is important for them to be prepared and have an immediate response and, constant monitoring to keep the pest controlled".

MulilaMitti also said that in addition to these actions FAO foresees to:
- Support country assessments of the pest impact (distribution / mapping, infestation levels, damage, loss of income, population needs)
- Strengthening regional coordination through early warning systems
- Creation or strengthening of national surveillance systems by FAO and partners through the provision of technical assistance and advice;
- Distribution of technical guides with protocols to assist in pest identification and control measures.

Zambia recorded the largest affected area in the southern African region of some 223,000 hectares, including 90,000 maize fields, which led farmers to replant their crops. In Zimbabwe 130 000 hectares of maize were affected.