The city of Marrakech is hosting, from 14 to 18 April, the 21st biennial International Symposium on Plant Resistance to Insects, the last 20 editions of which were organised solely in the United States. Placed under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, this symposium is intended as a scientific platform for reflection for more than 100 researchers and experts from 36 countries, in order to review scientific progress and the latest advances in the field of plant resistance to insect pests, indicates a statement on Wednesday from the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). According to an approach favouring sustainable development and the genetic path of resistance for the control of insect pests, the scientists participating in this symposium will debate alternatives to control, other than the systematic recourse to pesticides, to face this scourge which causes losses estimated at billions of dollars globally. This symposium is organised jointly by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Plant Resistance to Insects (IPRI), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the Moroccan Association for Plant Protection (AMPP), the statement adds. The themes of this symposium will revolve around three axes, namely "Screening methodologies and identification of sources of resistance to parasitic insects", "Conventional and molecular strategies developed for resistance to parasitic insects" and "Mechanisms of resistance to parasitic insects". During this event of global reach, the IPRI decided to award the Merit Prize to the multinational team of researchers from ICARDA, MIAC/USAID and INRA of Morocco in recognition of their research work which led to the creation of wheat varieties resistant to the Hessian fly, which, for example, causes damage to about 35% of harvests in Morocco annually, the statement highlights. The Green Morocco Plan will certainly benefit from this important event in terms of knowledge and new technologies to further strengthen the national strategy for research, research-development and agricultural advice on crop resistance to insects and improve crop productivity through insect control techniques for the benefit of farmers.