The Fall Armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a Lepidopteran pest that feeds in large numbers on leaves and stems of more than 80 plant species, causing major damage to maize, rice, sorghum, sugarcane but also other vegetable crops and cotton. Fall armyworm is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In 2016 it was reported for the first time in Africa where it is causing significant damage to maize crops and has great potential for further spread and economic damage.

Two years ago, FAW arrived in Africa. What we have learned so far? What are effective strategies in reaching farmers across the continent? How effective have responses so far been? What are the long-term
consequences of these responses? What innovative ideas might work better?

Find out and share your insights during this carbon-FREE E-CONFERENCE on responding to the Fall Armyworm outbreak in Africa from 22-26 October 2018.

Subscribe here to join daily sessions on various aspects of responding to the FAW outbreak in Africa and access an online platform to meet, share work and discuss with others. The e-conference and the online platform will result in a shared action agenda that everyone can contribute to.

Program summary, daily sessions from 13:00-14:30 GMT:

   - 22 October: Fall armyworm identification and infestation
   - 23 October: Monitoring FAW infestation across Africa
   - 24 October: Effects of pesticide application in response to FAW
   - 25 October: What has been tried so far? Integrated pest management and farmer field schools across Africa
   - 26 October: What else can we try? Biocontrol, breeding and innovative solutions

Related Initiatives: 

The Fall Armyworm Portal - launched by CABI in September 2018 - contains a wide range of news, research, practical extension materials, videos and other resources on fall armyworm. The information comes from many organisations and sources. This portal is part of Invasive Species Compendium portal with over 200,000 records covering recognition, biology, distribution, impact and management of the world’s invasive plants and animals that are a major threat to the global economy (Invasive species are estimated to cost the global economy over US$1.4 trillion annually) and the environment. 

The Fall Armyworm Portal forms a central repository for information resources collated from a wide range of contributors including many of the key organisations collaborating in the FAO-led Framework for Partnership for Sustainable Management of the Fall Armyworm in Africa and the Fall Armyworm Research for Development International Consortium. If you have resources that you would like to be included into Fall Armyworm portal, please contact [email protected].

To help tackle FAW, CABI has:

• launched CABI-led Action on Invasives programme; 
• produced an Evidence Note on Fall armyworm (commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Development DFID) that has been widely referred to;
• conducted major communication campaigns to promote awareness and management of Fall armyworm (Ghana, Uganda, Zambia) and Parthenium (Pakistan); reaching large numbers of people through multiple communication channels.

• AGORA Research4LIfe Platform ? : -

Learn more about AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture) - managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in partnership with Cornell University  and up to 85 of the world’s leading science publishers.

• AGRIS FAO platform ? :- 

Learn more about AGRIS: INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. 

Fighting against Fall Armyworm together: 
 

Organisations taking action on Fall Armywall

• FAO launches guide to tackle Fall Armyworm in Africa head-on
• FOOD CHAIN CRISIS: Fall Armyworm (FAO's Programme and Capacity Development for Action)
• Integrated management of the Fall Armyworm on maize: A guide for farmer field schools in Africa (FAO, 2018)
• Monitor & combat Fall Armyworm with FAO Mobile phone App 
• Digital innovations designed to tackle the Fall Armyworm
• Exploring the best tactics to combat fall armyworm outbreaks in Africa
• Fall Armyworm in Africa: A GUIDE FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (USAID, 2018)
• AccessAgriculture showcases a number of free agricultural training videos in different local languages (- - Scouting for fall armyworms; - - Killing fall armyworms naturally)
• Global actions needed to combat fall armyworm
• Fall Armyworm: Impacts and Implications for Africa. Evidence Note (UKaid and CABI, 2017) 
• A climate-adapted push-pull system effectively controls fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith), in maize in East Africa. Midega, CAO, Pittchar, JO, Pickett, JA, Hailu, GW and Khana, ZR, 2018, Crop Protection 105, pp. 10-15
• Lancaster University Armyworm Network
• CABI resources on Fall Armyworm
• FAO resources on Fall Armyworm
• USAID Fall Armyworm Tech Prize finalists