With the presence of fall armyworms in maize crops having been recorded since 2016 in the African continent – the first infestations took place in Nigeria – the losses caused by the pest have been increasing year after year. According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Mozambique, one of the institutions that was part of the delegation of 10 African countries to visit Brazil last year in order to learn about control technologies, the losses are significant for the population's food reserves, as maize is a staple in their diets.

A partnership between FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Embrapa and the governments of Mozambique and Cape Verde is offering the course “Spodoptera frugiperda management with sustainable technologies aimed at African countries” starting on July 8, at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, located in central Minas Gerais. The event will be coordinated by the Entomology researcher Ivan Cruz, who has cooperated with African institutions in attempts to mitigate the problem through missions and by introducing control technologies.

In a recent mission, the researcher has been to Cape Verde to train professionals both from the country's government and from Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. “The capacity-building event will focus on the pest's biological control, especially the production and use of the Trichogramma wasp, which is a beneficial insect that exclusively works on fall armyworm eggs”, he explains. According to him, the technology transferred to Cape Verdian and Mozambican technicians will fall under the responsibility of each country's research and technology transfer institutes. 

In Cape Verde, INIDA (National Institute of Agrarian Research and Development) leads the training, while in Mozambique, IIAM (Agrarian Research Institute) does. In African countries, maize is produced by smallholders. “The use of the Trichogramma wasp and of other sustainable technologies developed by Embrapa and used by Brazilian farmers not only is efficient and low cost, but also does not harm the health of farmers, consumers, or the agricultural environment”, underscores Ivan Cruz. The training will be held until July 19.

INFO
International course: Spodoptera frugiperda e seu manejo com tecnologias sustentáveis voltadas para países africanos 
Coordinator: Pesquisador Ivan Cruz
Partners: Embrapa, FAO, Governments of Cape Verde (INIDA) and Mozambique (IIAM), and Faped (Research and Development Support Foundation)
Venue: Embrapa Maize and Sorghum (Sete Lagoas, MG)
Dates: Jul 8 - Jul 19, 2019

Translation: Mariana Medeiros