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On the initiative of CORAF, some thirty plant protection specialists will be meeting in Praia (Cape Verde) from June 13, 2022, to strengthen their capacities in the sustainable management of the fall armyworm (CLA), and to coordinate interventions in this area.

Originating on the American continent, CLA was first detected on the African continent in 2016, and since then has caused major economic losses - especially for small-scale farmers - and represents a serious threat to the food and nutritional security of populations. 

"The economic damage caused by the armyworm is estimated at over ten billion euros, and maize is one of the crops most affected," declared His Excellency Gilberto SILVA, Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Cape Verde, at the opening ceremony of the workshop.

Faced with the scale of the threat, West and Central Africa's National Agricultural Research Institutes (INRA) and regional organizations and programs are stepping up research, interventions and efforts to stem the effects of CLA and other emerging biological risks linked to agricultural production. 

During the workshop, particular emphasis will be placed on communication tools and approaches, to be used in the fight against the scourge.

"It is very important to develop effective communication channels that enable research results to be passed from laboratories to producers in the field through communication, in order to contribute effectively to the fight against CLA and other pests. This helps to avoid conflicting messages and confusion, which can hamper rapid and appropriate response efforts", explains Dr Hippolyte AFFOGNON, Coordinator of the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development in West Africa(PAIRED) program at CORAF.

The workshop follows an earlier one held in Saly, Senegal, last year.

It therefore brings together the same community of practice that was set up for the occasion, made up of experts from INRA and other regional organizations.

These organizations include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Regional Centre of Excellence on Virus Epidemiology for Food Security in West and Central Africa (WAVE), etc.

The workshop will also provide an opportunity for INRAs and regional organizations involved in the fight against CLA to share experiences. 

Indeed, "successful control of crop-infested biological hazards, including CLA, requires the sharing of information and knowledge, including proven best practices in pest management.

This will facilitate the coordination of efforts between West and Central African countries," says Dr. Ousmane NDOYE, Coordinator of the "Anticipating and managing biological risks to strengthen farmers' resilience to climate change in West and Central Africa"(BIORISKS) project at CORAF. 

CORAF is organizing the workshop as part of the PAIRED and BIORISKS projects, funded respectively by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union.

Read also:

• Cape Verde's Minister of Agriculture calls for joint efforts to combat CLA
• 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