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The danger posed by the fall armyworm (CLA) is no longer a secret to agricultural stakeholders in West and Central Africa. 

Coupled with other factors such as climate change, CLA is responsible for huge economic losses, especially for small-scale farmers.

Citing the example of his country, Cape Verde, His Excellency Mr. Gilberto SILVA, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, points out that CLA is a major challenge for food security and for improving farmers' living conditions, as it attacks certain crops that form the economic and cultural basis of family farming in Cape Verde.

"The islands of Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão and São Nicolau have, on average, more than 95% of their area covered by maize and beans. Maize therefore plays an important role in the food and nutritional security of many rural families", he asserted.

CLA also has an impressive propagation speed and multiplication capacity.

The FAO reports, for example, that the insect in its winged stage can travel one hundred (100) kilometers in a single night, or even more if the wind is favorable, facilitating its rapid spread across sub-Saharan Africa.  

So it's trivially obvious that no single country can fight this scourge and succeed.

"Together, we are always stronger, and we can accelerate concerted action to combat the armyworm," said Minister Gilberto SILVA.

"Pests are a cross-border threat these days. A comprehensive pest management response is more likely to succeed and have a massive and tangible impact on smallholders, relieving them of the stress of pest-related losses and improving their incomes", argues Dr. Ousmane NDOYE, CORAF Coordinator of the project "Anticipating and managing biological risks to strengthen farmers' resilience to climate change in West and Central Africa"(BIORISKS).

Read also:

• Plant protection specialists on a crusade against the army worm
• Using communication tools and approaches to control the fall armyworm
• Building capacity to control army worms
• Launch of a project to strengthen the resilience of farmers in West and Central Africa to biological threats

To stimulate this concerted action, CORAF is organizing the second iteration of a capacity-building workshop for West and Central African plant protection specialists on integrated pest management (IPM) against CLA and other biological hazards, from June 13 to 17, 2022 in Praia (Cape Verde).

At the launch of the Praia workshop, Minister SILVA called for a pooling of efforts. 

The workshop was attended by some thirty (30) experts.

Its main aims are to share country experiences on sustainable CLA management strategies, raise awareness of CLA and its adverse effects on agriculture, and provide experts with a sound basis for an effective communication strategy for the integrated control of CLA and other emerging biological hazards related to agricultural production.

It is organized within the framework of two projects implemented by CORAF: the BIORISKS project - funded by the European Union - and the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development in West Africa(PAIRED) program - funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).