Ispahani Agro launches Fawligen organic pesticide

The National Fall Armyworm Taskforce organised a day-long workshop on "Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Control Management" recently at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Auditorium.

The chief guest Dr Abdur Rauf, additional secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture officially inaugurated the commercialisation process of the Fawligen organic pesticide in Bangladesh.

As there is no effective organic pesticide for controlling fall armyworm insects in Bangladesh, Ispahani Agro Limited contacted AgBiTech – an organic pesticide manufacturer in Texas, USA – to provide Fawligen in Bangladesh. It was then approved for use in controlling fall armyworm insects based on satisfactory results from all types of lab and field tests.

The National Fall Armyworm Taskforce, BARC, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Simit, USAID, and the assistance of the Department of Agricultural Extension are responsible for all aspects of the search for organic pesticides, import into the country and permission for commercialisation following due process.

After the official inauguration of Fawligen, Fawzia Yasmeen, director of Ispahani Agro Limited, gave a short speech on the topic and Dr Timothy J. Kropnik, country representative of Summit, Bangladesh presented the main article at the workshop.

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is known worldwide as a deadly and destructive insect. It attacks about 60 types of crops including: maize, sorghum, cotton, nuts, tobacco, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, the attack rate on maize crops is the highest. Insects cause severe damage to crops by eating the leaves and fruits of trees.

Chemical pesticides are not very effective in controlling these insects but the insects can be effectively controlled by applying organic pesticides at the right time, in the right way. Though this insect is mainly from American continent, in 2016 it attacked in Africa and in 2018 it attacked different countries of South Asia including Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

Chaired by Dr Shah Mohammad Bakhtiyar, executive chairman of BARC; Kamala Ranjan Das, additional secretary of Ministry of Agriculture; Md Asad Ullah, director of Sorejomin Wing; Dr Md Nazirul Islam as the Guest of Honor, director general of BARI; Dr Md Israel Hossain, director general of BWMRI were present at the event.

Approximately 35 high level officials working in various national and international organisations attended the workshop on 22 September, 2020.