| Summary: | Fall armyworm (FAW) has rapidly become one of the most damaging pests in Africa. Since its arrival on the continent in 2016, FAW has caused extensive maize damage, threatening both household food security and national production (Goergen et al., 2016). In Uganda, estimated losses range from 160 to 410 million USD annually under scenarios with no control measures (Day et al., 2017). Most smallholders rely on synthetic pesticides, but these pose persistent challenges:
High cost and limited access
Health and environmental risks (Abro et al., 2021; Devi et al., 2022)
Growing resistance in FAW populations (Gould et al., 2018)
Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches—especially push–pull technology (PPT)—offer long-term and ecologically sustainable alternatives. PPT, developed by icipe, combines maize intercropping with Desmodium (push) and border rows of Brachiaria (pull), reducing FAW incidence and improving soil fertility (Midega et al., 2018). Despite strong agronomic performance, uptake remains low due to information gaps, input constraints, labor demands, and gendered barriers to extension access
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