Pest Surveillance for Sustainable Agriculture

Virtual meeting (Zoom Webinar), 25/02/2021 - 25/02/2021

10:00-12:00 (Budapest time)

Plant pest surveillance is one of the key activities related to protection of plants against pests. In everyday agricultural plant production, early detection is fundamental for decision-making by farmers on application of pesticides or other crop protection methods. Regular surveillance at the farm or at the local level is indispensable in Integrated Pest Management systems as it provides updated information on pest presence in the context of possible exceeding the economic thresholds. The role of surveillance cannot be overestimated, either, in the protection of forests or other natural environments against plant pests or invasive alien species.
The main objective of the webinar is to share pest surveillance systems approach, its thematic areas and the functioning of existing surveillance systems in selected countries in Central Asia, Caucasus, South-Eastern Europe and Turkey. Moreover, the webinar should provide an opportunity for participants to discuss surveillance-related issues and help understand which kind of capacity development activities may be needed for countries in the region in order to support their surveillance systems.

Speakers

• Ralf Lopian, Chairperson of the International Steering Committee for IYPH
• Chris Dale, Assistant Director for Plant Health Surveillance and Diagnostics in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of Australia, the Vice-Chair of the Implementation and Capacity Development Committee of the IPPC
• Maged Elkahky, FAO Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP)
• Powell Mponela, University of Bonn

Panel discussion

• Presentations on national pest surveillance by:
• Representative of North Macedonia
• Representative of Tajikistan
• Representative of Kyrgyzstan
• Representative of Turkey
• Representative of Azerbaijan

Moderators

• Zsuzsanna Keresztes, Specialist on IPM and Climate Resilient Practices, FAO REU
• Piotr Wlodarczyk, Agricultural Officer, FAO REU