MoFA moves to control ‘fall armyworm’ invasion on crops
The acting Director of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD), under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Ebenezer Aboagye, said the ministry would soon present a memorandum to Cabinet for consideration in the control of the army worm (FAW), which attacks crops.
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Last year, about 4,000 hectares of farmlands were destroyed nationwide by the FAW, a new pest in Africa that attacks maize and also feeds on a range of other crops, including millet, sorghum, rice, wheat, sugar cane and vegetables.
Speaking in an interview on April 21, 2017 on the sidelines of a workshop in Accra, Mr Aboagye said currently, about 500 hectares of farmlands had been affected, adding that maize was so far the most targeted crop.
He noted that the pest was initially discovered in few regions, but because farmers did not know its nature, they only sprayed the leaves, while the pest was in the stem/hole and so later spread and destroyed about 100 per cent of maize farms.
Mr Aboagye said some farmers ended up abandoning their farms so they were not controlled, but rather became resistant; and that was why the country was having the problem again.
“Some farmers had to replough and replant but there was still reinfestation. The memo will detail the action plan for the control of the FAW, and this includes surveillance, awareness creation, training of spraying teams and funding for chemicals to use,” he said.
Farmers’ experience
The National Women's Leader of the Farmers Organisation Network in Ghana, Madam Lydia Sasu, said in an interview that the invasion of the FAW was causing havoc to the livelihoods of majority crop farmers who were mostly women.
“It is destroying our maize and our farms so we need a solution. We have started planting and even those who planted earlier in places such as Maame Krobo in the Afram Plains are already experiencing the FAW,” she lamented.
FAW response
The PPRSD and the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) organised the stakeholder workshop to develop a FAW response plan with national and international partners.
The West Africa Regional Coordinator of the CABI, Dr Victor Attuquaye Clottey, said the FAW was not indigenous to Africa but was spreading fast, such that it was important to bring stakeholders together to share more information on a plan of action in the immediate/short term.
“We have our own African armyworm, but this FAW is new to our continent and it is destroying our crops so we need to take action now or else we may have food shortages in proportions which can destabilise our economies,” he mentioned.
He said there were actions to be taken immediately so that things do not get complex and the outcome of the workshop could help in planning funding mechanisms and resource allocation.
Dr Clottey said the proportion of the epidemic demanded that things be done not only at national level but also at the sub-regional and regional levels.
Identifying the FAW
The caterpillars are mainly found feeding on young maize plants and leaf damage is usually characterised by ragged feeding and moist sawdust-like frass near the funnel and upper leaves.
Caterpillars tend to enter through the side of the ear and feed on developing kernels in contrast to stem borer caterpillars that normally enter the ear from the top or the bottom.
Recognising the difficulty in controlling new invasive species such as the FAW, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Coordinator at CABI, Mr Roger Day, said CABI, in collaboration with the PPRSD and other partners, were embarking on the Plantwise project through which they run plant clinics where farmers go to seek solutions to their plant health problems.
He said this was part of efforts to reduce the impact on livelihoods.