Over the last few years, fall armyworm has continued to spread rapidly across the globe. Photo: Collected
Plant pest still causing massive
destruction of crops despite progress in tackling it
Rome | 22/04/2022
- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to
extend its global drive against one of the world’s most invasive plant pests –
fall armyworm – which is still destroying billions of dollars’ worth of crops
despite progress and a raft of measures to tackle it.
“Fall armyworm knows no
boundaries and is continuing its rapid march across the globe," FAO
Director-General QU Dongyu told the Steering Committee of the FAO
Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control today as it endorsed a
move to extend its timeline to the end of 2023 and broaden its scope.
As recently as 2016, only six African countries reported the
pest, which devours dozens of different crops. Today, 78 countries in Africa,
the Near East, Asia and the Pacific are reporting it. In
Africa alone, fall Armyworm is estimated to cause up to USD 9.4 billion in
annual yield losses, Qu said.
The spread of fall armyworm is driving intensified pesticide
use, putting human and environmental health at risk. In response, the FAO
Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control is coordinating comprehensive measures
across Africa, the Near East and Asia.
Reports on impact promising
Reports on the impact of these measures are promising. In Burkina Faso, yield
losses caused by fall armyworm are reported to be consistently at or below 5
percent since 2020, and biopesticides and biological control have shown up
to 90 percent field efficacy against the pest.
Despite these achievements,
there are still challenges to be addressed. The pest continues to spread,
exposing new farmers and their livelihoods; large-scale gatherings and
trainings are still being impeded by COVID-19; IPM adoption and yield
loss reduction is uneven from country to country; and use of hazardous
pesticides persists.
In response, an extension of the timeline for the Global
Action to the end of 2023 has been approved. The extension will
enable increased dissemination of IPM technologies, and by increasing the
Global Action’s scope, it will tackle multiple pest threats through sustainable
plant health management, supporting the One Health Initiative.
FAO launched the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control
(2019-2022) in December 2019 as an urgent response to the rapid spread of fall
armyworm. The
initiative complements ongoing FAO activities on fall Armyworm. The
Global Action has established a coordination mechanism enabling open and
collaborative dialogue for science-based solutions, supports the establishment
of National Task Forces on fall armyworm control, and helps mobilize resources
for applied research and technical outreach.
|Source: FAO
Comment Now