funder_partner: Nepal’s Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre (PQPMC)

Refresher webinar on fall armyworm management in South Asia

Written by Alison Doody on October 14, 2022. Posted in News.

The fall armyworm is a destructive polyphagous pest that feeds on more than 300 crop species, with a particular appetite for maize. The pest was first reported in Asia in 2018 and has been spreading in the region since then, especially in maize-producing countries of South Asia.

Several campaigns on identifying and managing fall armyworm have been conducted in South Asia, yet the challenge to control the pest remains. The damage caused by fall armyworm to farmers’ fields was reported widely during the 2022 spring maize season in Pakistan and Nepal’s Terai region. Many maize farmers complained about the current economic downturn, price hike of agricultural commodities and the unavailability of safe pesticides to reduce crop losses.

On 21 July 2022, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) initiated a refresher webinar to share the latest scientific advances and best practices for identifying and managing fall armyworm in South Asia. The platform extended an opportunity for the participants to understand and learn about effective integrated pest management (IPM) approaches being practiced in the region. It also addressed the importance of enabling policies that are crucial to foster innovations to reduce crop yield loss and save the environment from hazardous effects of toxic pesticides.

The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project (NSAF) team, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by CIMMYT, organized the virtual event in collaboration with Nepal’s Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal’s National Maize Research Program, the Maize and Millet Research Institute in Pakistan, the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and CGIAR’s Plant Health Initiative.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal, delivered their opening remarks during the inaugural session. The Secretary emphasized the use of safer methods, including but not limited to mass rearing and releasing of natural enemies of fall armyworm and the deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties.

“USAID will continue working with partners to advocate and promote IPM practices till the pest becomes of non-economic importance,” said Seuc.

BM Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative lead emphasized the importance of IPM practices to manage the pest. Prasanna discussed the global efforts to control the pest and shared the progress of fall armyworm tolerant maize seeds which are being released and deployed by CIMMYT partners to help resource poor farmers, especially in Africa.

AbduRahman Beshir, NSAF’s seed systems lead, emphasized the importance of the event and acknowledged the participation of approximately 525 attendees from public and private research institutions, academicians, civil society, private sector, policy decision-makers, CGIAR centers and USAID Nepal. The webinar gathered attendees from 15 countries, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and China.

Experts from South Asia presented on a range of topics including the status of fall armyworm and its management in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Pacific Region, IPM practices and experience of using safe pesticides, breeding for native genetic resistance to fall armyworm, and biological control and push-pull strategies. The experts emphasized on the need for collective efforts to strengthen national and international coordination, favorable policies, deployment of fall armyworm tolerant maize varieties, and best response interventions to help farmers battle the fall armyworm and limit its spread.

Efforts to mitigate the impact of fall armyworm attacks are still ongoing. CIMMYT is continuously working to alert farmers and stakeholders on the IPM practices of fall armyworm in the region.

MAIZE partners announce a new manual for effectively managing maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on April 11, 2022. Posted in Features.

For a decade, scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been at the forefront of a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional effort to contain and effectively manage maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in Africa.

When the disease was first reported in Kenya 2011 it spread panic among stakeholders. Scientists soon realized that almost all commercial maize varieties in Africa were susceptible. What followed was a superlative effort coordinated by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) to mobilize “stakeholders, resources and knowledge” that was recently highlighted in an external review of program.

The publication of Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN): A Technical Manual for Disease Management builds on the partnerships and expertise accrued over the course of this effort to provide a comprehensive “guide on best practices and protocols for sustainable management of the MLN.”

The manual is relevant to stakeholders in countries where MLN is already present, and also aims to offer technical tips to “‘high-risk’ countries globally for proactive implementation of practices that can possibly prevent the incursion and spread of the disease,” writes B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and MAIZE, in the foreword.

“While intensive multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional efforts over the past decade have helped in containing the spread and impact of MLN in sub-Saharan Africa, we cannot afford to be complacent. We need to continue our efforts to safeguard crops like maize from devastating diseases and insect-pests, and to protect the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholders,” says Prasanna, who is presently leading the OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative Design Team.

Participants in one of the trainings learn how to scout and collect data on fall armyworm in a maize field. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Collective efforts to fight fall armyworm in Nepal

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on April 7, 2020. Posted in Features.

Three years ago, farmers in the country were combatting the threats of a destructive tomato pest, Tuta Absoluta, and are now battling their way to manage the attack of fall armyworm on maize fields across the country. Since the government’s Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre (PQPMC) declared the arrival of fall armyworm on August 2019, this pest is reported to have infested almost half the districts of Nepal and continues to spread further.

“I wasn’t able to gather even half the yields I used to get from my maize field following the fall armyworm outbreak last year,” said Pavitra, a farmer from Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal.

The level of incidence and damage varies from place to place, but farmers have reported up to 80% crop loss in extreme cases. In Nepal, the fall armyworm has the potential to cause maize yield losses of 20-25%, which translates to the loss of more than half a million tons of the annual maize production — estimated at around $200 million. If the pest is left unrestrained, its impact will be huge for farmers and the economy.

This calls for a collective effort and broad mobilization to effectively manage fall armyworm and limit its spread across the country. Since the pest was expected to reach Nepal, partners have conducted workshops and community mobilization initiatives.

Experts at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been working with public and private partners before and after the arrival of the invasive pest in Nepal. The shared efforts have focused on creating awareness, disseminating appropriate technologies and management techniques, and strengthening the capacity of communities, institutions and governments.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has established a national taskforce to fight the pest. Most provinces have established similar taskforces that include researchers, agriculture extension agents, farmers and entrepreneur associations.

Training participants examine a fall armyworm on a maize leaf. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Fall armyworms are found on leaves in a maize field in Nepal. (Photo: Shailaja Thapa/CIMMYT)

A pheromone trap is installed next to a maize field in Nepal. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Participants in one of the trainings learn how to scout and collect data on fall armyworm in a maize field. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Training participants imitate the fall armyworm’s white inverted Y mark visible on the front of the head of the larva. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Gearing up to fight the very hungry caterpillar

In collaboration with national and provincial governments, CIMMYT has trained 426 agricultural professionals, including lead farmers, on how to identify and manage fall armyworm.

In February 2020, CIMMYT partnered with agricultural development directorates in two provinces to train 130 people on how to scout for fall armyworm and recommended solutions, based on integrated pest management principles.

In late 2019, CIMMYT engaged with the public and private sector through training workshops to disseminate proven practices to control the pest.

“Before, I was unable to recognize the pest that had destroyed my maize field. The hands-on training has been very informative,” said Urmila Banjgayu, a lead farmer who participated in one of the trainings. “I am certain to share the knowledge and practices that I learned with other farmers in my locality. They need to know what to do and what not to.”

Through the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, CIMMYT staff is working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), the PQPMC, provincial governments, and other USAID-funded projects and development partners in Nepal. Together, they have developed integrated pest management packages, informative factsheets and surveillance guidelines. CIMMYT researchers have shared experiences on pest management, surveillance and scouting techniques from other countries in Asia and Africa. They have also demonstrated digital tools that will help map the spread of the pest and build accurate interpretation for better management.

Outreach workers use an auto-rickshaw equipped with a sound system and infographics to disseminate information about armyworm in Nepal’s Banke district. (Photo: Darbin Joshi/CIMMYT.)

Farmers listen to information about fall armyworm displayed on an auto-rickshaw in Nepal’s Banke district. (Photo: Darbin Joshi/CIMMYT)

Fall armyworm awareness campaign

Farmers must learn how to identify and manage this pest. Bijaya Ghimire, a lead farmer from Kanchanpur district, had heard about fall armyworm from a nearby seed company and a few of his friends. He informed the Agriculture Knowledge Center about the symptoms he observed in his maize field, and verification of the larvae and damage confirmed the presence of fall armyworm. Luckily, Ghimire was able to control the pest before severe damage was done.

CIMMYT researchers collaborated with the Prime Minister Agricultural Modernization Project (PMAMP) to implement outreach campaigns in Banke district. This included a mobile information booth, local dissemination of audio messages, and distribution of posters and fact sheets about fall armyworm. The two-day campaign successfully raised awareness about the pest, reaching more than 1,000 farmers from four villages in maize growing areas.

Researchers also worked with Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) and adapted an educational video on how to identify and scout for fall armyworm in a field into Nepali. In collaboration with the PQPMC, the video was broadcast 42 times on three local TV channels, to an estimated audience of more than one million viewers in June 2019. The video has also received over 2,000 online views. The animated video is being shown to farmers using mobile phones and displayed on big screens during community events and workshops.

“Seamless collaboration is required among the major stakeholders in the country to collectively fight the pest,” said AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT seed systems lead for the NSAF project and member of the national fall armyworm taskforce. “The potential impact of fall armyworm poses a fundamental challenge for smallholder farmers in Nepal. If unattended, it is going to be a food security issue and an equally daunting task to safeguard livelihoods.”