Third Meeting of the Technical Committee of the FAO Global

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REPORT

Third Meeting of The

Technical Committee of The FAO Global Action

for Fall Armyworm (FAW) Control

1 October 2020

FAW Secretariat, Global Action for FAW Control

Report - Third Meeting of theTechnical Committee of the FAO Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control _______________________________________________________________________________________

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Contents

1. Opening Remarks ........................................................................................................... 3

2. Welcome Remarks ......................................................................................................... 3

3. FAW Global Action Implementation Report ................................................................... 3

4. Comments and Discussion .............................................................................................. 4

5. Report on the Inventory of Evidence-based Approaches for FAW Management ........... 4


7. Preparation of the IPM Generic Packages, and the IPPC Prevention Guidelines ............ 4


9. Concluding Remarks from the Chair and Vice Chair ....................................................... 5

Appendix 1: Agenda ................................................................................................................... 6

Appendix 2: List of Participants................................................................................................7

Report - Third Meeting of the Technical Committee of the FAO Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control _______________________________________________________________________________________

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1. Opening Remarks

[1] The Vice Chairperson, Mr Bukar Tijani, opened the meeting with a welcome to all participants, and expressed his gratitude to them for their commitment in participating in the Technical Committee (TC), the main objective of which is to provide technical advice to the Global Steering Committee of the Global Action (GA) for Fall Armyworm (FAW) Control. Mr Tijani then highlighted the fact that significant progress had been made since the launch of the GA in December 2019 by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General, despite additional challenges, including the desert locust upsurge and the COVID-19 pandemic.

[2] The Vice Chairperson emphasized the need for the international community to work together more closely to address transboundary pests and diseases, regardless of whether those originate in humans, crops or livestock.

[3] The Vice Chairperson stated that information collected by the TC on FAW management options would be made available to the Steering Committee (SC) together with the general integrated pest management (IPM) guidelines after being screened on the basis of the agreed criteria.

2. Welcome Remarks

[4] The TC Chairperson, Mr Robert Bertram, welcomed all participants and conveyed his appreciation for active participation and contributions from all members of the TC. He stated that it was important to maintain a sense of urgency, based on the severity of the situation and the losses due to FAW. While COVID-19 and locust invasions are a global priority at the moment, FAW is also causing considerable crop yield losses. The TC Chairperson informed participants also about the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, a global food security partnership with university-led programmes. The Chairperson announced that a new innovation lab on “current and emerging threats to crops” focused on key threats in Africa and Asia would be established soon.

3. FAW Global Action Implementation Report

[5] NSP-Director, Mr Jingyuan Xia, expressed his support to the comments of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, and described the new arrangement for the FAW Secretariat.

[6] He presented the Global Action, its challenges and objectives (increased coordination, reduced yield losses, and limiting of further spread),as well as its expected outcomes at social, economic and environmental levels. Moreover, he underlined the fact that the GA involves a wide range of disciplines (e.g. quarantine, pesticides, IPM) and a large variety of stakeholders.

[7] Mr Xia introduced the GA strategy focusing on eight demonstration countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malawi, and the Philippines. These countries have been requested to organize FAW control actions and additionally, to share experience and innovations to support pilot countries across their regions.

[8] He presented the following GA highlights as evidence of ongoing progress: two SC meetings and three TC meetings held; eight demonstration and 53 pilot countries identified in three regions; general guidelines for the implementation of the regional IPM strategy drafted; FAO FAW Secretariat established; new financial resources from FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) mobilized; and communication materials developed.

[9] Finally, Mr Xia suggested two separate lines of work for the TC in future: (i) Line A – Providing technical oversight for the Global Action, including conducting IPM assessments and developing

https://www.feedthefuture.gov/

https://www.feedthefuture.gov/


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guidelines for regional IPM packages; and (ii) Line B – Providing technical guidance at the regional level, including joining technical teams of selected demonstration countries (DCs) and technical inputs in the development and implementation of IPM packages in their selected DCs.

4. Comments and Discussion

[10] A Committee member raised a question on the availability of funds to further support the applied research. Mr Xia replied that while seed money provided by FAO would mostly support the capacity development of the DCs concerning the regional IPM package, it is up to the individual countries to prioritize national budget allocation for the FAW action plans.

[11] A serious concern was expressed regarding the pressure from a well-established market for highly hazardous pesticides versus a new market of natural products and biopesticides. During the discussion, Mr Xia pointed out that a new era of global coordination among different key-stakeholders, such as private sector, governments and researchers, is necessary to respond to the above-mentioned challenge.

[12] In addition, Mr Xia highlighted the value of farmers field schools in this context, since the beneficiaries of all this action are, in the first instance, farmers.

[13] Finally, the TC stressed the importance of having an IPM package with an inclusive approach that contains information on all technologies that are available and easily scalable at the national level.

5. Report on the Inventory of Evidence-based Approaches for FAW Management

[14] Mr Bertram reminded everyone of the Theory of Change and the six tasks in the TC work plan, and observed that significant evidence was already available. Achievements as of September 2020 included an IPM inventory on FAW management options. An upcoming critical task for the TC is to assess and finalize this IPM inventory on the basis of cost efficacy, scalability, accessibility and sustainability. The results would then be included as an appendix to the IPM generic package.

[15] Technical working group (TWG) Chairpersons were asked to review the results of the inventory and the draft of the general guidelines for the implementation of the regional IPM strategy and to finalize all comments by October 2020.


[16] Participants noted that funding is needed for at-risk or early-affected countries to screen for the FAW situation and act. Existing and new biopesticides need to be tested and validated. Some technologies, such as push & pull, will need more research in some countries; for example, to identify alternative plants that can be used for push & pull in the Near East and North Africa Region.

[17] The Committee expressed the idea that there is no a single solution to FAW infestation and sustainable management, but rather an inclusive IPM approach with complementary solutions and management techniques.

7. Preparation of the IPM Generic Packages, and the IPPC Prevention Guidelines

[18] Mr Buyung Hadi from the FAW Secretariat, presented information on the status of preparation of the IPM inventory and of the development of the general guidelines for the implementation of regional IPM strategies (IPM package) in demonstration countries.

[19] The IPM package will be forwarded to the regional teams in each of the demonstration zones. These general IPM packages will consist of a common template for the eight demonstration countries, and


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a narrative outline to illustrate certain monitoring, early action and IPM practices to be included in the regional IPM package. In the appendix of the package will be included the synthesis of global IPM inventory, as well as a menu of options for the regional technical teams.

[20] The technical teams, consisting of national and regional experts, will then develop a regionalized package and related guidelines.

[21] Ms Sarah Brunel, from IPPC Secretariat, presented the work of the IPPC, and the next steps regarding drafting, validating and implementing the guidelines on quarantine measures for FAW.


[22] Several comments were made by the Committee on the necessity for technical teams, supporting regional and country teams, to have a common protocol and database to measure and collect data from demonstration countries. A point was made concerning the different agroecological zones and the importance of differentiating the approach.Moreover, the importance of highlighting the difference between technology testing and evaluation plots from participatory demonstration plots was stressed.

[23] Mr Xia called on the TC members for a joint effort in supporting regions to develop protocols and validate results in the different agroecological zones and farming systems. Mr Bertram asked how to make the best use of evidence collected.

[24] A Committee member noted that the group ‘Grow Asia’ is running Webinars about FAW biocontrol technologies, adding that a Webinar is planned on efficacy trial design for biocontrol agents.

[25] Another member noted that clear predictive models that are over 90 percent accurate for FAW are being applied in Africa. A Committee member added that outreach to farmers had been successful in this Region, and pointed out, as a key example, that nine million people messaged per week in response to the locust problem in Kenya.

[26] Committee members raised concerns over lack of awareness on pesticide risks on human and environmental health, adding that health monitoring and communication, particularly with regard to risks associated with certain compounds, were necessary.

[27] A last point was raised on the importance of socio-economic impact studies, as a key step for the work undertaken by the TC.

9. Concluding Remarks from the Chair and Vice Chair

[28] Mr Bertram underlined the importance of accessibility and availability of management options, stressing the fact that “we are still learning”. Safe, practical technologies that farmers can use are needed. Mr Tijani thanked all participants for the fruitful discussion and closed the meeting.


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Appendix 1: Agenda

THIRD MEETING

GLOBAL ACTION FOR FALL ARMYWORM CONTROL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

1 October 2020

15.00–17.00 (Rome time, GMT +2)

Agenda

ITEMS DOCUMENTS PRESENTER PROPOSED TIME

1. Opening Remarks Bukar Tijani, Vice Chair 5 minutes

2. Welcome Remarks Robert Bertram, Chair 5 minutes

3. Comments and Discussion Bukar Tijani, Vice Chair 10 minutes

4. FAW Global Action Implementation Report

Jingyuan Xia, NSP Director 20 minutes

5. Report on the Inventory of Evidence-based Approach for FAW Management

Robert Bertram, Chair and Elisabetta Tagliati, Chief Technical Adviser

20 minutes


7. Preparation of the IPM Generic Packages, and the IPPC Prevention Guideline

Buyung Hadi and Sarah Brunel of FAW Secretariat

30 minutes


9. Concluding Remarks from the Chair and Vice Chair

Robert Bertram, Chair

Bukar Tijani, Vice Chair

10 minutes


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Appendix 2: List of Participants

Name, Last name Organization name, Address

International Research Institutes

1. Mr Malik Ba

Country Representative – Niger, West & Central Africa Program

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Niger

2. Mr Georg Goergen

Entomologist / Biocontrol Specialist

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Benin

3. Mr BM. Prasanna

Director

CIMMYT's Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize, International Maize and Wheat improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico

4. Mr Roger Day

Programme Executive, Action on Invasives

Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), United Kingdom

5. Mr Julien Godwin

Programme Support Manager, Action on Invasives

Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience international (CABI), United Kingdom

6. Mr Rhett Harrison

Tropical Forest Ecologist & Conservation Biologist

International Centre for Agroforestry Research (ICRAF), Zambia

National Research Institutes

7. Mr Sujay Rakshit

Director

ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, PAU Campus, Ludhiana, Punjab (India)

8. Mr Wang Zhenying

Professor

Department of Agricultural Insects, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China

9. Mr Carlos Blanco

Senior entomologist

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/ARS), Washington, D.C., United States of America

Academia


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10. Mr Greg Neussly

Professor, Director of the Everglades Research and Education Center

University of Florida, Belle Glade, United States of America

11. Mr Ken Wilson

Professor

Lancaster University - Insect & Parasite Ecology Group – iPEG, Lancaster, United Kingdom

12. Mr Juan Ferre

Professor, Genetics

University of Valencia, Valenica, Spain

13. Mr David Hughes

Associate Professor of Entomology and Biology

Penn State University, Pennsylvania, United States of America

14. Mr Paul Jepson

Director of Technical Operations

Oregon State University, Corvallis, United States of America

NGOs/Civil Society

15. Ms Sheila Willis

Head of International Programmes

Pesticide Action Network (PAN UK), Brighton, United Kingdom

16. Mr Mel Oluoch

Regional Director

SASAKAWA Africa Association, Kenya

17. Mr Emmanuel Okogbenin

Director of Technical Operations

African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya

Private Sector

18. Mr Andrew Ward

Stewardship Director

Crop Life International, Brussels, Belgium

19. Ms Roma Gwynn

Vice-President

IBMA International Bio-pesticides Manufacturers Association, Brussels, Belgium

Development Partners

20. Mr Robert Bertram

Chief Scientist, Chair of Technical Committee

United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington, D.C., United States of America


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21. Mr Chris Dale

Assistant Director

Plant Health Surveillance and Diagnostics Program

Plant Health Policy Branch, Biosecurity Plant Division

Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment

22. Ms May-Guri Sæthre Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), residing in Ibadan, Nigeria

23. Mr Hanns Krebs European Commission (EC), Brussels, Belgium

24. Ms Panagiota Mylona European Commission (EC), Brussels, Belgium

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

25. Mr Bukar Tijani

Assistant Director-General

FAO

26. Mr Jingyuan Xia

Director

Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP)

27. Mr Rémi Nono Womdim

Deputy Director


28. Ms Elisabetta Tagliati

Chief Technical Advisor


29. Mr Baogen Gu

Senior Agricultural Officer and Team Leader


30. Mr Jean Claude Rwaburindi

FAMEWS Trainer


31. Mr Gustavo Pereira Bornemann

Plant Protection Specialist


32. Ms Verena Wilke

Programme Specialist


33. Ms Giovanna Ortiz Fermin

Office Assistant



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34. Ms Preetmoninder Lidder

Technical Officer


35. Mr Shoki Al Dobai

Senior Agricultural Officer


36. Mr Maged Elkahky

Agricultural Officer


37. Ms Anne-Sophie Poisot



38. Mr Puyun Yang


Research and Extension Unit

Office for Innovation (OINR)

39. Mr Arop Deng



40. Ms Sarah Brunel

Implementation Officer

International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat

41. Mr Zhongxin Chen

Senior Information Technology Officer

Information Technology Services Division (CSI)

42. Mr Niccolo Lombardi

Early Warning Early Action Specialist

Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA)

43. Mr Mario Zappacosta

Senior Economist

Trade and Markets Division (EST)

44. Mr Dominique Burgeon

Director

Emergencies and Resilience (OER)

45. Ms Rosanne Marchesich

Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer

Emergency and Resilience Division (OER)

46. Mr Neil Marsland

Senior Technical Officer

Emergency and Resilience Division (OER)


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47. Mr Chado Tshering

Programme Officer

Office for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) (OSL)

48. Ms Bruna Takara

South-South Cooperation Specialist

Office of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (OSS)

49. Mr Ye Anping

Director

South-South and Triangular Cooperation (PST)

50. Mr Zhongwei Liu

Senior Programme Officer

Business Development and Resource Mobilization Division (PSR)

FAO Plant Production and Protection Officers

51. Mr GC Yubak Senior Agriculture Officer (FAORAP)

52. Mr Thaer Yaseen Agriculture Officer (FAORNE)

53. Mr Jean Bahama Plant Production and Protection Officer (FAORAF)

54. Mr Orlando Sosa Agriculture Officer (FAOSFE)

55. Mr Mathew Abang Plant Production and Protection Officer (FAOSFS)

56. Mr Tristan Nondah Plant Protection and Production Officer (FAOSFC)

57. Ms Erdene Us Adiya Operations Officer (FAOMN)

58. Mr Adin BloukounonGoubalan Agriculture Officer (SFWDD)

59. Mr Mohamed El Hady Sidatt

Plant Production and Protection Officer

Subregional Coordinator (SNE)

Documents

Third Meeting of the Technical Committee of the FAO Global