Invasives Blog

Last week, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Thematic Network on Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems hosted an e-conference on the fall armyworm outbreak in Africa which brought together experts, stakeholders and other interested parties to discuss the challenges posed by fall armyworm and to evaluate the possible solutions.

Over the five-day conference, a wide range of fall armyworm topics were discussed including identification and infestation, monitoring and initial responses, recommended responses, breeding, Bt and push-pull options, as well as fall armyworm innovations. Holding this conference over the internet was a great way to make it more accessible and to bring people together; there were approximately 500 participants enrolled from all over the globe.

Amongst the experts presenting was Ivan Rwomushana of CABI, who talked about communication approaches for sustainable fall armyworm management. During his presentation, Ivan discussed the importance of communication linkages between researchers, policymakers and regulators, national task forces, and farmers and intermediaries, as well as the way in which CABI helps to facilitate this, for example, through its fall armyworm portal, an open-access central repository for fall armyworm resources.

For more information and videos of all the presentations given during the e-conference, please visit http://unsdsn.org/news/2018/10/26/outcomes-from-the-fall-armyworm-e-conference/.