Dealing with transboundary pests is tricky at the best of times. Standards, practices, capacity levels and engagement vary across countries and regions, and responses are often ad hoc and ineffective. However, matters become even more complex when the pest in question flies over borders, threatens the food security and livelihoods of millions, and causes severe environmental and economic damage along the way. Fall armyworm is such a pest.Step forward the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the “Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control”, a pioneering initiative that aims to mobilize US$500 million over 2020–2022 to take radical, direct and coordinated measures to fight fall armyworm at a global level.Fall armyworm is an invasive moth originating in the Americas. It prefers to eat maize but also feeds on 80 or more other crops, including rice, sorghum, m...