Farmers are worried that the infestation of fall
armyworms in several parts of the country might destroy their crops and worsen the food situation in the country.
The deadly armyworms have been detected in parts of Rift Valley, Western and Coast regions.
In Kwale, locals who spoke to the Star on Friday said they are counting losses after the invasion.
The African armyworms, which invaded farms in Lunga Lunga early March, according to agricultural officials have now spread to Shimba Hills which is the food basket of the county.
Most fruits, maize and vegetables which are traded at Kongowea market come from the area.
Kwale County Agriculture director David Wanjala confirmed the invasion.
Wanjala said the government is making efforts to control the spread of the worms.
“The county has allocated money to buy more chemicals to fight the pests but we encourage farmers to continue spraying their farms as we try to look for more resources,” he said.
Wanjala said his department is organising public barazas to create awareness and give farmers tips on how to stop the spread of the worms.
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He said that they are working closely with chiefs, ward administrators and extension officers to successfully deal with the deadly pests.
“We are urging farmers to pool resources and buy the required chemicals as opposed to using traditional methods
on affected crops,” he said.
If not contained,
the officer warned that the pest could resort to attacking sorghum, rice and even ordinary grass after wiping out all maize crop.
A local farmer, Agatta Mwonga said some of the crops have been destroyed completely.
“They eat every green thing on the farm. We have farmers who had planted maize but they have gone to square one because everything has been eaten up by the hungry worms,” she said.
Agatta noted that farmers are now forced to plant again which is costly asking the county and national government to intervene.
“The worms are said to be dangerous since they cannot be wiped by any insecticide and therefore that is the biggest headache for farmers. We are still planting but worried our crops will be destroyed yet again,” she added.
Last month, Agriculture CS Willy Bett told farmers not to panic over invasion fears of the dreaded army worms.
He said his ministry has set up a response unit within the crops department to monitor the threat of any invasion by the pests.
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