The invasive pest, FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith), was confirmed as being present in Ghana in 2016. In response to the FAW outbreak, CABI worked with other stakeholders in Ghana through its Action on Invasives programme to support a number of FAW-specific activities, through a collaborative effort with the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). A FAW management plan was developed that focused on four priority areas: co-ordination and collaboration; awareness-raising; monitoring and surveillance; and research and management. Most importantly, the national management plan aimed at ensuring coordinated efforts between public, private, and civil society organisations in the management of FAW. A national multi-stakeholder taskforce was created, and charged with advising the Minister of Food and Agriculture and coordinating the response to FAW.

The milestones highlighted above, namely the development of a national FAW management plan; the national multi-stakeholder taskforce and the specific components represent a learning journey whose full value was further explored through a structured retrospective inquiry that revisits key highlights of what exactly transpired by component of the response process.