December 2024 saw the inception meeting and official launch of the five-year project ‘Management of forest pests and diseases of forest crops in Ethiopia’, that was held in Addis Ababa. The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and involves the Ethiopian Forestry Development, University of Sunshine Coast (Australia), CIFOR-ICRAF, ICFR and FABI.

The project aims to develop and implement sustainable management for key insect pests and diseases of Acacias, eucalypts and Moringa in Ethiopia, to strengthen and sustain livelihoods and forest enterprises. The project includes the development and implementation of field surveys, data management, diagnostic tools, introducing new planting material, site-species matching, and biological control. It also includes capacity-gap, gender, socio-economic and value-chain analyses to understand the social and economic ‘landscape’ of the project, including current challenges and opportunities.

The FABI/UP involvement in the project is led by Prof. Brett Hurley, and includes Prof. Bernard Slippers and Prof. Irene Barnes, postdoctoral Fellows Dr Jackson Muyobela and Dr Charlene Clarke, Dr Wilma Nel (Diagnostic clinic manager), and Dr Wegayehu Fitawek (UP, Department of Agricultural Economics,Extension and Rural Development). Others involved in the project include Dr Nora Devoe (ACIAR), Dr Agena Anjulo, Weldesenbet Beze, Kumela Regasa (EFD, CIFOR), Prof. Simon Lawson and Dr Madaline Healey (USC), and Dr Ilaria Germishuizen, Greg Fuller and Nuveshen Naidoo (ICFR).