CABI has partnered with leading researchers and institutions to launch a new portal that facilitates global research collaboration to help fight the devastating crop pest fall armyworm (FAW).
The CABI-led Fall Armyworm Research Collaboration Portal is a free-to-access platform that enables the sharing of research data, insights and outputs, and includes a range of key features such as posting research updates, identifying collaborators, and posting questions to the community.
The Fall Armyworm Research Collaboration Portal, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) under the Action on Invasives programme, will also encourage researchers to post preprints of research articles to the new agriRxiv - which offers researchers and students access to preprints across agriculture and allied sciences.
It will help reduce the duplication of research into FAW prevention and management, provide a route for the rapid sharing of results and highlight opportunities for collaboration - encouraging rapid, iterative experimentation and global teamwork to address the spread and impact of FAW.
FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a lepidopteran pest that feeds in large numbers on leaves and stems of more than 80 plant species, causing major damage to maize, rice, sorghum, sugarcane but also other vegetable crops and cotton.
The pest is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. However, in 2016 it was reported for the first time in Africa, where it is causing significant damage to maize crops and has great potential for further spread and economic damage.
FAW has since spread to the Near East and Asia and, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it will likely soon be present in southern Europe. The FAO says that once FAW is a resident pest in a country, it is there to stay and farmers need significant support to manage it sustainably in their cropping systems through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) activities.
The Research Collaboration Portal is the official platform for the Fall Armyworm Research for Development International Consortium. The Fall Armyworm Portal contains a selection of news, research, practical extension materials, videos and other resources on fall armyworm.
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