Impact case study database

As the world leader in armyworm research in Africa [3.1-3.5], Wilson was the only non-African scientist to be invited to a crisis summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, in February 2017 organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO) [5.1]. Here, he presented his research to the attendees and provided expert opinion on the threat posed by Fall Armyworm (FAW) to the continent based on his extensive research into the ecology, migration and management of African armyworm and his previous experience of working on FAW in South America [3.1-3.5]. He also chaired three break-out groups and helped to draft the Final Meeting Report, including the recommendation that future management plans for FAW must have at its heart an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy (a sustainable approach to managing pests that combines multiple practices, including the use of biopesticides, while minimising risks to human health and the environment) [5.1]. These recommendations built on Wilson’s research into the use of baculoviruses as biopesticides, exploring the commercial production of biopesticides [3.1], as well as the use of indigenous botanical and microbial resources [3.5]. Wilson was subsequently an invited keynote speaker and facilitator at further summits in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Thailand throughout 2017 to 2019, and was asked to contribute to the development of a long-term management plan for the new invasive pest in Africa and Asia; this has resulted in three further UN-FAO technical publications, targeting different stakeholders, but all of which have extensive recommendations for putting IPM into practice [5.2].

In response to the FAW invasion of SSA, the UN-FAO established eleven Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to develop a strategy for the management of FAW, and Wilson was asked to chair the Biopesticides TWG (2017 to 2019). As part of this, he presented his data on FAW susceptibility to pesticides and provided insights to regular UN-FAO international meetings and monthly teleconferences to develop the FAW management plan. This includes specific recommendations on which pesticides and biopesticides are suitable for FAW management, based on his research [3.6-3.7] [5.2]. Wilson has also been active in providing data and training on IPM via the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a free online platform providing expert advice to thousands of farmers, NGOs, governments, donors and other stakeholders globally [5.3].

Wilson’s research and expertise has played a crucial role in developing UN-FAO’s IPM strategy. This is corroborated by a statement from the Principal Technical Co-ordinator for Fall Armyworm at the UN-FAO in his testimonial of 2019, stating that Wilson’s TWG “has directly informed our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, which has now been implemented in 45 countries and benefited tens of thousands of farmers ” [5.4].

In early 2020, the TWGs were rationalised and Wilson was asked to co-chair the new Biopesticides and Pesticides Technical Working Group (2020 to 2022), tasked with delivering new educational materials, protocols, and long-term strategy documents for invasive pest management. This was motivated by FAW becoming an even greater global threat to food security as it spread from Africa into Asia, Indonesia and Australasia. As part of this, UN-FAO developed a new three-year plan called Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control to ensure a strong coordinated approach at country, regional and global levels, mobilising USD500 million “to take radical, direct and coordinated measures to strengthen prevention and sustainable pest control capacities at a global level” [5.5]. As co-Chair of one of the 7 new TWGs, Wilson was invited to deliver the first webinar to international stakeholders on the significant risks associated with chemical pesticides and the prospects for replacing these with biopesticides and other safer alternatives [5.6], based on his recent research [3.6,3.7]. This was watched live by more than 150 stakeholders at high government levels from more than 30 countries globally. His TWG was also the first of the new TWGs to be asked to deliver recommendations to the International Steering Committee of the Global Action Plan for Fall Armyworm Control, highlighting the influence that Wilson’s work is having in shaping policy at an international level.

Wilson has been working with an SME called Crop Bioscience Solutions (CBS) Ltd., the first bio-tech company to be established in Tanzania, to locally mass-produce a virus biopesticide in East Africa, based on his previous research [3.1, 3.5]. The CEO of CBS Ltd. states that the collaboration has included “large-scale pre-registration field trials of the SpexNPV biopesticide in Africa, in collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture” [5.7].

As well as allowing CBS Ltd. to develop the capacity to mass produce the biopesticide, the collaboration has also allowed the company to diversify into tissue culture and the mass production of disease-free, vegetatively-propagated crops.

The CEO says: “This expansion has led to Crop Bioscience Solutions Ltd. increasing its workforce and we now employ 15 staff. It has also impacted the lives of hundreds of farmers in Tanzania by providing them with clean planting materials .”. [5.7]

Wilson established, and has run, the Armyworm Network website for more than 10 years. It provides resources to stakeholders interested in the biology and control of armyworms in Africa, including farmers, NGOs, extension officers, government officials, the press and AID agencies. As well as providing information, press reports and publications, it also disseminates monthly forecasts for African and Fall Armyworm outbreaks throughout Africa. The website has generated approximately 100,000 page views and more than 40,000 unique visits over the last 10 years. The website has also had a significant amount of user interest in its bespoke graphics and movies based on his research [3.1, 3.5], such as the animation of the spread of Fall Armyworm in Africa on YouTube (more than 600 views across five drafts in 12 months).

Wilson has engaged with a wider pool of stakeholders by giving interviews to the media, including to TV channels such as Al Jazeera [5.1] and the BBC; newspapers including The Guardian [5.8]; radio, including BBC World Service: Science in Action (audience figures of 20 million globally), BBC World Service: Africa Today, and Radio France Internationale; and magazine interviews for Science and Nature [5.9]. Wilson also recorded an SDSN e-conference presentation on biopesticides for Fall Armyworm control, which is a lasting resource for farmers in Africa and other stakeholders and has been viewed nearly 400 times [5.3]. All of this outreach impact is possible only due to Wilson’s extensive research and knowledge of armyworm biology, ecology, physiology, genetics and migration [3.1-3.7].