From November 10 to 16, the FAO-CAAS Technical Workshop on Sustainable Fall Armyworm Management for Africa was successfully held in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. The workshop was co-hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and organized by the Institute of Plant Protection of CAAS (IPPCAAS) and the Plant Protection Research Institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GDPPRI). Over 50 participants, including agricultural officials and technical experts from FAO, Kenya, and Ghana, as well as experts from domestic research institutions and universities, attended the training.

Leaders attending the opening ceremony included Cao Haijun, Chief Scientist of the Center of International Cooperation Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Yi Ganjun, Vice President of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS); Liu Wende, Deputy Director General of the IPPCAAS; He Zifu, Director General of the GDPPRI; Liu Jie, Deputy Director of the Monitoring and Forecasting Department of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center; and Yan Ronghai, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Rural Affairs, and Water Resources of Huiyang District, Huizhou. Xia Jingyuan, Secretary-General of the FAO Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control Secretariat, introduced the background and progress of the China-FAO "Sustainable Fall Armyworm Management" South-South Cooperation Project. He stressed the importance of the workshop, encouraged participants to apply China’s advanced management practices in their home countries, and outlined the key focus areas and next steps of the project. Project Officer Maged Elkahky provided an overview of the global efforts and achievements in combating fall armyworm. Professor Li Zhenyu from GDPPRI, Associate Professor Zhang Tiantao from IPPCAAS, and representatives from Kenya and Ghana shared updates on the pest’s occurrence and control progress in their respective regions, providing attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the global situation.

The workshop featured lectures from seven experts, including Prof. Wang Zhenying and Associate Prof. Zhang Haowen from IPPCAAS; Deputy Director Liu Jie from the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center; Prof. Xia Yuxian from Chongqing University; Prof. Lü Baoqian from the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences; and Prof. Li Zhenyu and Prof. Li Dunsong from GDPPRI. Topics covered included integrated pest management, monitoring and early warning systems, microbial pesticides, biological control methods, parasitoid wasp breeding techniques, and their practical applications.

Participants conducted field visits to the natural enemy breeding base at the GDPPRI, where they learned about industrialized breeding processes. They also visited South China Agricultural University, the Huiyang Agricultural Technology Extension Center, and high-tech enterprises such as YINNONG TECHNOLOGY, XAG TECHNOLOGY, and RUIFENG TECHNOLOGY to explore technological innovations in pest control.

This workshop is part of the China-FAO "Sustainable Fall Armyworm Management" South-South Cooperation Project. Following the Training on Monitoring and Prediction of FAW in China held in Sanya, it marks the second large-scale training program for African countries hosted in China, providing technical support for the demonstration of integrated pest control techniques in Kenya and Ghana, serving as an important milestone in the implementation of the project and strengthening China’s contributions to international agricultural collaboration.