News
Regional Training Course on Identification of Cassava Mealybugs and
their Management Chonburi, Thailand, 1-5 August 2011
 Under the FAO Technical Cooperation Project on “Spread, Prevention and Management of Cassava Pink Mealybug in the Greater Mekong Subregion” (TCP/RAS/3311) and in collaboration with the Thailand Department of Agriculture and Department of Agriculture Extension, FAO held a Regional Training Course on Identification of Cassava Mealybugs and Their Management (with special focus on the cassava pink mealybug and its parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi) in Chonburi, Thailand on 1-5 August 2011. A total of 34 participants (twenty women) attended comprised of government representatives from six countries (Cambodia,  China PR, Lao PDR, Philippines. Thailand and Vietnam), resource persons and FAO staff. The Regional Training Course on Cassava Mealybugs was organized to: (1) familiarize participants with the life cycle, ecology and natural enemies of CM (an exotic invasive pest), including how to identify it; (2) train participants on the parasitoid A. lopezi, including its importation, rearing, field releases and monitoring, and impact assessment against the CM; and (3) enable the countries to become prepared and be ready to deal with the CM (if it is absent in the country), especially in its management and spread prevention through ecological pest management strategies that make optimal use of natural and  introduced biological control, and in so doing, benefitting the smallholder farmers and farm workers. The programme of the workshop included presentations on -and practical field work to learn about- Cassava mealybugs ecology, host preference, damage, prevention and management, including natural biological control, and experiences in Thailand; practical sessions on insect collection and identification, with emphasis on cassava mealybugs and their important natural enemies; rearing of cassava mealybugs and the parasitoid, A. lopezi; parasitoid field release and monitoring; evaluation on parasitoid impact and visits to cassava mealybug and natural enemy rearing units.
The participants who attended the regional training course were carefully selected by each  country on the basis that after the training they will continue to be actively involved with the regional TCP project and work activities concerning the CM and its management in countries where CM is present. In case CM is absent, the trained participants would undertake CM surveillance, and when CM is detected, play a key role in importing A. lopezi, to rear it and make field releases, including monitoring its impact and other associated activities.
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