LAUNCHING. Officials of the Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Plant Industry pose during the launching of the Global Action Large Scale Field Demonstration of Fall Armyworm Management Strategies and Technologies on Feb. 21 in Calasiao town, Pangasinan. The demonstration will be held in San Carlos City, Binalonan, Calasiao and Sta. Barbara towns on Feb. 22 to 23. (PNA) SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan - Four local government units (LGUs) in the province of Pangasinan were chosen to demonstration their technologies and strategies in the management of the fall armyworm infestation as part of the Global Action for Fall Armyworm control in the Southeast Asia. The LGUs are the towns of Binalonan, Calasiao and Sta. Barbara and city of San Carlos. In an interview on Wednesday, regional crop protection center chief Marivic Begonia of the Department of Agriculture Ilocos Region (DA-1) said the LGUs use natural enemies of the pest instead of insecticides which are harmful both to humans and the environment. "We are promoting bio-control agents such as lure trap," she said. She added that Pangasinan was chosen since the province already has graduates of Integrated Pest Management. Bureau of Plant Industry crop pest management division officer-in-charge Peter Magdaraog, in a separate interview, said the project was funded by the Global Action Plan. "Global Action Plan is a collaborated effort of different countries to fight the fall armyworm infestation. Other countries will also share how to handle the infestation. At the end of the workshop may sharing of best practices for the participants to get the best strategies," he said. The large scale field demonstrations are being held in the four localities in the province from Feb. 22 to 23. DA-1 regional executive director Annie Bares, in her speech during the launching program on Tuesday afternoon, said the demonstrations are aimed at promoting Farmer Field Schools as centers for testing and advancing integrated management strategies and technologies against the fall armyworm. She said it also promotes the vigorous and candid exchange of information among participants, planners, researchers, and policymakers. "It is also to help finalize the Regional Integrated Pest Management Package against fall armyworm," she added. Fall armyworm was first detected in the Cagayan Valley in 2019 and has since devastated 50,000 hectares of cornfields in the provinces of the country including Pangasinan which sustained PHP345 million losses. (PNA) }