Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) management by smallholders.

A. J. Hruska https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0984-3816

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome 00153, Italy.

CAB Reviews 2019 14, No. 043

Keywords: Africa, Agriculture, Americas, Asia, Fall armyworm (FAW), Infestations, Maize, Pests, Smallholders

The fall armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a crop pest species that has become global, having spread from its native American distribution to Africa and Asia since 2016. Its rapid spread, plus concerns about potential yield losses, have led to the search for sustainable management options. While most farmers affected by FAW in America have large-scale farm operations, the overwhelming majority of farmers in Africa and Asia are smallholders. This dramatically different context means that different management approaches must be sought Large-scale producers with high-productivity, access to international market prices, risk-transfer mechanisms and the benefits of government subsidies are able to use technologies unavailable to smallholder farmers without access to those conditions. This review examines these differences and surveys the literature for accessible management options for smallholders, largely based on locally available solutions using ecological knowledge. Innovative digital solutions may also play a role in helping farmers learn about these solutions, and share them locally.