Responding to the FAW outbreak in Lao PDR: the first 30 days of action by the Lao Upland Rural Advisory Service (LURAS)

1. Reactive Extension
LURAS response to the outbreak of
Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Lao PDR
The first 30 days

2. One week before day zero - Wed 22 May
 LURAS was contacted by
experts from the International
Maize and Wheat Improvement
Centre (CIMMYT) to organize a
visit to Northern Laos.
 Plans were made for field
visits to Xieng Khouang in
cooperation with staff from
PAFO Crops Section

3. Day zero – Thu 30 May
 CIMMYT experts and PAFO staff
identified FAW for the first time
in Pek District, Xieng Khouang
 The next day they confirmed a
serious outbreak of FAW has
occurred in Kham District. An
estimated 70% of crop is
affected
 With advice from LURAS, a list
of participants was prepared for
an urgent meeting to be held in
Vientiane

4. Day 4 – Mon 03 June
 Preliminary plans were agreed for:
 developing Lao materials
 assessment of crop damage
 training field staff and farmers
 FAW stakeholder meeting was held
at NAFRI. LURAS supported
participation of staff from PAFO
XK, plus an IPM consultant
 Follow-up meeting at DTEAP to
discuss extension strategy.

5. Day 5 – Tue 04 June
 An announcement on the
outbreak of FAW in XK Province
was posted in English at LaoFAB
discussion group (4,600 members)
and in Lao at Facebook groups
(more than 11,000 followers)
 Links to English language
extension materials produced by
CIMMYT and FAO were provided to
LaoFAB members
 A consultant was hired to start
translation of materials into Lao.

6. Day 8 – Fri 07 June
 Meeting was held between LURAS
Team Leader and the project donor:
the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation (SDC).
 The donor approved project
proposals to support reactive
extension in order to address the
urgent problem of FAW

7. Day 12 – Tue 11 June
 The first Lao language materials are launched. A video with Lao
narration is shared online at YouTube and FaceBook

8. Day 14 – Thu 13 June
 LURAS disseminates an
English translation of the
MAF Order, Notice and
Agreement on establishment
of FAW Task Force. Files
made available through
LaoFAB
 Translations of extension
materials into Lao was
completed and sent to
graphic artist for layout

9. Days 15 to 20 – mid June
 Field visits in XK Province were
carried out by LURAS partners at
PAFO to assess level of damage
 A coordination meeting was held
with the FAO Representative.
Approval was immediately given
for dissemination of Lao versions
of FAO materials on FAW control

10. Day 21 – Thu 20 June
 Layout of Lao extension materials
was completed
 Discussions were held with printer
 Plans for dissemination prepared
 PhD entomologist contracted to
provide expert advice of IPM
options for FAW control

11. Day 25 – Mon 24 June
 1,000 sets of extension materials in Lao
language were ready for field workers and
farmers
 Files were put online and freely available
to all organisations and projects

12. Day 26 – Tue 25 June
 Training of 50 farmers in Kham
District was carried out by PAFO staff
using the new extension materials
 LURAS team made field visits with
pest management experts from
National and Provincial levels to
discuss next steps

13. Days 27 to 30 - End of June
 Plans were prepared for
participatory action research (PAR)
to compare the effectiveness of
different control methods.
 The PAR will be carried out at
different sites in Kham District. The
results are expected to help farmers,
PAFO/DAFO and project staff decide
on future steps.
 Meanwhile, LURAS is also supporting
proactive extension to promote
alternatives to maize in Xieng
Khouang and other Northern
provinces.

14. Some lessons from the first month
 Reactive extension needs three things: a plan, a team, and
lots of communication
 The plan must be flexible: details should be continually
reviewed and revised based on experience.
 But.. don’t rush in making decisions: collect data, consult
with experts and consider all options.
 The team must also be flexible: it may be necessary to hire
extra people, work at weekends, attend meetings at short
notice and travel to the field.
 But... don’t think you can do everything yourself. Find
partners. Reach out to other projects and organisations.
 Communication happens in concentric circles:
 make sure all team members knows what to do
 make sure partners know what your team is doing
 make sure the wider community know what you have done!