On 22 July 2021, the Brazil Africa Institute (IBRAF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed a Letter of Agreement (LoA) to jointly design a South-South cooperation (SSC) training through IBRAF’s newly launched Online Professional Learning (OPL) platform to support 400 African trainees to gain expertise and skills on Fall Armyworm (FAW) sustainable control.
The LoA was signed by Prof. João Bosco Monte, IBRAF’s President, and Ye Anping, FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division (PST) Director. The agreement marks the first IBRAF – FAO joint digital capacity development activity.
“This is only the first of many initiatives we can carry out together. I see lots of potential for our engagements but also this is a great opportunity for us to bring others to join and work towards the implementation of this program. I am very pleased because I know FAO has this driven to strengthen the global South and the SSC agenda,” stated Prof. João Bosco Monte, President of IBRAF.
Fall Armyworm (FAW) is a dangerous transboundary pest with a high potential to spread rapidly due to its natural spread capacity and opportunities presented by international trade. Some pesticides being used against FAW are very toxic to humans and cause environmental contamination; that is why OPL will focus on the urgency to act for its sustainable control.
OPL’s Fall Armyworm sustainable control course will benefit trainees from Kenya, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work jointly with IBRAF. It is very important to promote ways of cooperation with developing nations under South-South and triangular cooperation. We need to make more people and countries aware of SSTC. I hope our cooperation leads this transition step by step,” said Ye Anping, FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division (PST) Director.
FAO has launched a Global Action for FAW Control as a response to the international threat that FAW is posing for food security and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.
The agreement also marks the official launch of IBRAF’s Online Professional Learning, an online platform for professional development that has a multi thematic approach. IBRAF partners with institutions of excellence and local experts in specific fields to develop the curriculum and digital content to provide training to Brazilian and African workers. OPL opens a new path to share know-how between Brazil and African countries, exchanging good practices and democratizing learning in a time- and cost-effective manner.