Area-wide pest management and prospects for fall armyworm control on smallholder farms in Africa: A review

ABSTRACT

Currently, the management of many highly mobile and very destructive insect pests such as fall armyworm is still carried out for the most part, on a field-by-field basis. Chemical pesticides remain the most predominant pest control option, despite their direct effects on human health, the environment, and biodiversity. Integrated Pest Management which involves the use of a combination of techniques has been promoted for the long-term prevention of pests, but they too, are usually applied by producers independently of others. Uncoordinated and reactive field-by-field pest management addresses only a small fraction of a local pest population, allowing for fast re-invasion of managed farms. Area-wide pest management, where coordinated pest management tactics are used over a broad landscape, has been suggested as a key strategy for the sustainable management of invasive and mobile pests. Using narrative review methodology, we give a description and synthesis of available literature on area-wide pest management on smallholder farms around the world. We specifically examine the successes, facilitators, and barriers to effective implementation of the approach. We discuss these cases considering changing institutional and socio-economic factors and assess prospects for sustainable area-wide management of fall armyworm in Africa.

KEYWORDS:

• Area-wide pest management
• collective action
• environment
• fall armyworm
• invasive pests
• sustainability
• social norms

Public interest statement

Invasive pests, like the fall armyworm, pose a significant threat to our environment, food security, and economy. They destroy crops, disrupt ecosystems, and make it necessary to use more dangerous pesticides. Area-wide integrated pest management is a sustainable and eco-friendly solution that benefits us all. By using natural predators, resistant crops, cultural practices, and precise monitoring, we reduce the need for chemical pesticides and protect our environment. In addition to preserving our food supply, this strategy promotes the well-being of pollinators and other useful insects. Farmers, stakeholders, and the general public play vital roles in area-wide pest management by ensuring coordinated and synchronized actions aimed at maintaining the pest below economic levels.

Acknowledgement

The study was conducted as part of the CABI-led Action on Invasives (AoI) and PlantwisePlus programmes, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS). In addition, PlantwisePlus also receives funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the European Commission Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA, EU); the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR); and the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China (MARA). CABI as an international intergovernmental not-for-profit organization, gratefully acknowledges the generous support received from our many donors, sponsors and partners. In particular, we thank our Member Countries for their vital financial and strategic contributions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data sharing does not apply to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/27658511.2024.2345464