FAO commends Director of PPRSD on Armyworm fight
The Deputy Country Representative of FAO in-charge of Africa, Mr Benjamin Adjei has commended the Directory of Plant Protection Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) for the pragmatic steps taken so far in containing the Fall ArmyWorm (FAW).
He said FAO’s partnership with PPRSD, a directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to identify FAW natural enemies for biological control of FAW in the country would continue until effective parasitoids were identified for mass rearing and release in Ghana.
Mr Adjei said this when he handed over 12 mobile phones and laptops to the directorate for effective management of data on the FAW in the country.
He said the items `were to support the on-going work on surveillance of FAW moth population in the country and biological control.
He said the continuous monitoring of the FAW moth population dynamics across the country using pheromone traps Fall ArmyWorm Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (FAMEWS) is critical for management decisions.
He said the mobile phones were to support refresher training of staff in data collection on pheromone traps using FAMEWS application.
“The laptops will aid compilation, analysis and sharing of data uploads by the Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs) for knowledge sharing and decision making,” he added.
Mr Adjei said some interventions such as training of AEAs in data collection using the FARMERS developed by FAO and training of farmers in early detection and control of FAW at the community level.
The Deputy Country Representative said this would contribute to the overall monitoring and early warning mechanism that the Ministry through the task force has put in place. “FAO wants to thank you for your leadership and pro-activeness, especially in the management of FAW in the country,” he said.
Dr Felicia Ansah-Amprofi, the Director of PPRSD expressed gratitude to the management of FAO for their continuous support in the fight against FAW.
She said the mobile phones would greatly help in data collection and transfer of information quickly to Headquarters in Accra.
Source: GNA