FAO Launches Innovative Field Trials For Sustainable Fall Armyworm Control In Kenya
26 November 2025, Kiambu: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through the FAO–China South–South Cooperation project, is transforming how Kenyan smallholder farmers combat the devastating Fall Armyworm (FAW). FAW remains a major threat to maize production in Kenya, with serious implications for national food security.
FAO is promoting sustainable FAW management through targeted field-based integrated pest management (IPM) interventions. In collaboration with national partners, field trials are underway to identify the most effective IPM options, particularly the use of organic products and natural enemies—across different ecological zones.
Harnessing nature: raising biological protectors
As a starting step, the project is supporting the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)’s Biotechnology Research Institute in Muguga to rear indigenous natural enemies such as Trichogramma and Telenomus for biological control of FAW. The rearing of these beneficial natural enemies is progressing well.
Empowering communities through farmer field schools
Working with KALRO, the project established 25 farmer field schools (FFS) in Bungoma and 25 in Embu Counties, offering hands-on training for farmers to adopt and test IPM practices—botanical and biological —under real field conditions.
During the ongoing agricultural season in Bungoma county, a total of 720 farmers will be trained. In Embu, about 500 farmers, will participate in FFS activities through the 25 FFS groups. This focus on local capacity development recognizes that sustainable pest management depends on well-trained communities. By empowering and involving women and youth, the project is cultivating a new generation of community-based pest specialists who can share knowledge widely across households and villages.
During an evaluation mission conducted from 20–24 October 2025, Maged Elkakhy, FAO Technical Officer, commended local partners for their strong commitment to the field trials and promised FAO’s continued support to upscale the trials and sustain FFS activities.
Ishmael Mganda, Crop Protection Officer from the Plant Protection and Food Safety Directorate (PP&FSD), highlighted the importance of institutional coordination and broad stakeholder involvement. He reaffirmed the need for stronger collaboration to harmonize national efforts and scale up successful IPM models emerging from FFS experiences.
From vision to action: national strategy for expansion
After identifying the most effective IPM models, the project will formulate a national strategy for their scale-up, ensuring that learnings from the pilot FFS sites contribute to strengthened pest management policies and practices.
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