Regional teamwork urged for crop pest

A destructive pest the size of a little finger known as the fall armyworm is devouring staple crops and threatening farmers' livelihoods across large parts of Asia.

As many as 15 provinces in southern, central and eastern India are reported to have been affected since May 2018. Parts of Yunnan province have also shown the strains of what is often described by experts as "one of the deadliest crop pests in the world".

Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were all hit late last year, with vast swaths of maize, sorghum and millet being destroyed. Concerns are being raised that the pest could spread to the Mediterranean as well.