Experiences and vision of FAO on surveillance and

management of wheat rust diseases

F. Dusunceli1, W. Khoury2, H. Muminjanov3, A. Nersisyan4, S. Aldobai5, N. Birisik6, M. Sahin6, S.

Selcuk6, T. Asikoglu3, Z. Mert7, K. Akan7, K.Nazari8, D.Hodson9

Food and Agriculture Organization

FAO: Mission

Contribute to the achievement of food security and eradication of hunger

Normative work in food and agriculture

(Agreements, standards, regulations …),

Technical assistance (Pest and pesticide management, IPM),

Emergency prevention support.

Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES)

All agriculture and food related areas,

Food Chain Crisis Management Framework:

Food related risks; Animal health; Plant health

Includes Transboundary Plant Pests and Diseases

Objectives

Prevention

Surveillance – alerts

Awareness - Preparedness

Timely response

Objectives:

Prevention, preparedness & management

Technical support,

International collaboration,

Partners:

BGRI / Cornell University;

CIMMYT; ICARDA; IFAD;

AARHUS University;

National Governments and Institutions

Donors: IFAD; Cornell University / BMGF; USDA; FAO / Italy

Cooperative Programme; Spanish Trust Fund

Wheat Rust Disease Global Programme

Awareness raising

and policy:-Workshops;

- Contingency planning

Surveillance:- Global rust Monitoring

System

- National surveys

- Early warning

Farmer training &

extension: - Farming Field Schools,

- Farmer Study Groups

- Field Days

Capacity Building:-Greenhouse, Laboratory, field

capacity improvement support;

-Training of experts

Regional and International

Collaboration: - Conferences, symposiums

- Travelling workshops

Seed systems:-Promotion of use of

resistant cultivars

-Variety registration

Components of the programme

Experiences: Farmer training

Farmer Field Schools, Farmer Study Groups,

field days and demonstrations were effective,

Interactions with experts and farmer-to-

farmer knowledge exchange,

Education level / illiteracy major problem,

Sustainability, scale up, commitments !

Slow registration processes and replacement,

Limited publicity,

Resistance not always considered as priority,

Seed availability,

Cost and accessibility,

Seeds: Major constraints

Preference, speed

and scale!

Seeds: Challenges

Resistance is not given enough emphasis (awareness, better publicity means and incentives could help),

Formal seed systems are not strong everywhere (support needed also for informal seed production),

Extension systems and institutions weak (capacity development, training needed on technology transfer)

Engagement of farmer organizations, cooperatives and (Capacity development, policy support, incentives ..)

Seed availability and cost (support mechanisms for certified seeds?)

Awareness raising

Many government institutions do not pay attention to rusts,

Awareness raising is essential at all levels emphasizing the essential elements,

- Coordination

- Surveillance

- Cultivar resistance

- Seed systems

- Rapid response

Contingency Planning ?Purpose: Integrated planning ahead of crisis / epidemics for

prevention and rapid response

Develop a strategic long term vision and identify prioritized actions,

A process to find answers to a number of questions:

What are strengths and challenges?

What to do?

How to?

With whom ?

With what ?

Coordination / Process ?

Contingency planning:Things to consider

Engagement of all relevant stakeholders and institutions, identification of their roles and coordination arrangements,

Establishment of a platform for information exchange, evaluation and decision making,

Situation analysis and identification of strengths and gaps,

Development of a collective action plan for rapid response

Institutional CoordinationNational rust management committee

Technical committee (Task force)

Regional

committees (Task forces)

Themes / Task forces and leads

Planning, monitoring and finance

Surveillance and early warning

Research and cultivar development

Variety registration

Seed production and distribution

Fungicide use and IPM

Farmer training and extension

International collaboration

Support to Global Rust Monitoring System,

Collaboration with CIMMYT, ICARDA and AARHUS University on Global Rust Monitoring system,

Support to countries for fieldsurveys,

Speedy surveys for rapid response!

Surveillance

Why go mobile?

Rapid response requires

Effective coordination and planning,

Speedy access to field information,

Wide coverage,

Early warning and decision making,

Field data must be

Reliable

Readily available

How far ?

How many times ?

How many districts ?

Surveying for rusts !

Surveying for rusts

Mobile surveillance tool

SMS: WHT YR20 ABCD

The systemStructure

SMS gateway tool and software,

An operation unit based at Ministry,

Network of

extension officers in districts

researchers at institutes

Procedure:

Presence and species of rusts in fields,

Percentage of infected plants,

Any other relevant information such as field size or name of the cultivar.

Findings

IMMEDIATE

DISPLAY

WARNINGS:

- SMS

- MAIL

FILE &

STORE

Yellow rust development - 2013

Search / reporting tool

2014 !

More than a survey system !

Utilization of extension offices in districts,

Real time access to field data,

Exchange of information among extension, offices, operation unit, research institutes and relevant authorities,

Early warning and decision-making tool to facilitate timely interventions,

Assists research institutions to design their scientific surveys in the most appropriate locations and routes,

Future prospects

Adaptation possible,

Can accommodate other pests and diseases,

Can be considered as a component of wider crop monitoring systems,

Effective tool for rapid response,

Information sharing, coordination and collaboration platform for research, crop protection and extension institutions.