CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program deploying scientific tools to ensure food security from pests and disease

Nairobi, 6 June 2025 (IITA) – World Pest Day is observed on June 6th to raise awareness about the impact of pests on human health, food, and the environment and the role of R&D in combating pests.

Plant pests and diseases cause up to 40 percent of crop losses annually, amounting to around US$220 billion, disproportionately affecting Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) farmers. Climate change, transboundary trade, and agricultural intensification are driving the increased outbreaks of pests and diseases.

To combat the threat of plant pests and diseases, the CGIAR’s Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) is boosting investment in accessible diagnostic tools, strengthening surveillance programmes, and promoting inclusive and eco-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) solutions.

“Outbreaks of invasive pests and diseases such as fall armyworm, mango mealybug, banana bunchy top, maize lethal necrosis, etc., are contributing an annual economic loss valued at US$ 1.1 billion per country according to a recent baseline survey of FAO in East Africa,”  said, Dr. Lava Kumar, Plant Health Program Leader at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). “SFP is continuing to mobilize interdisciplinary capacity, in collaboration with national and international partners, to generate appropriate innovations and scale them to counter pests threatening food production and incomes of smallholder farmers.”

Dr. Jan Kreuze, Leader of Regenerative Agriculture at the International Potato Center (CIP), noted that simultaneous efforts have focused on assessing the impact of climate change on pests using tools such as Insect Life Cycle Modeling (ILCYM).

SFP is building on the priorities identified during a needs assessment conducted by the Plant Health Initiative across 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to identify knowledge and capacity gaps in pest and disease surveillance and response strategies. It identified major research and capacity gaps among National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) in the global south and highlighted the need to equip NPPOs to best respond to the growing threats of plant pests and diseases.

The survey also found that banana/plantain, cassava, maize, potato, wheat, and rice were the most targeted crops for pest and disease surveillance efforts. This knowledge helped to set priorities for developing common diagnostic methods and sharing protocols and knowledge across regions to improve diagnostic capacity and strengthen preparedness strategies to counter emerging pests.

The Sustainable Farming Program is tapping the hub-and-spoke model centered around the CGIAR Germplasm Health Units to roll out pest diagnostics and surveillance strategies across the continents. This arrangement could be seen as one of the foundation blocks of an urgently needed global plant health diagnostics and surveillance network to counter the growing risks of future plant disease and pest outbreaks.

Research and capacity building by the Sustainable Farming Program support plant health, mycotoxin-free crops, integrated water management, mechanization, climate adaptation, and mitigation on farms, and farm system integration. The SFP also recognizes the pivotal role of AI and digital technologies in raising the standards in data management to accelerate agricultural transformation.

Building on the ongoing initiatives, the SFP effort marks a crucial step toward a global plant health network to ensure farmers can detect, contain, and combat outbreaks before they devastate food systems. 

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About the Sustainable Farming Program

Sustainable Farming Program portfolio develops innovative farming solutions that integrate agronomic practices, plant health strategies, and sustainable farming systems. By enhancing soil health, improving water management, and boosting climate resilience, the program aims to support over five million farmers, reduce agricultural emissions by 15%, and expand sustainable agricultural practices across two million hectares, driving both environmental and economic benefits.