The Solution To Battling Army Worms In Kenya

The ministry of Agriculture requires an additional Sh320 million emergency funding to try and stop the crop-eating caterpillars known as fall army worms that are a threat to maize farming as they may affect food security. The assistant director of Agriculture has said.

“We have requested the Treasury to allocate us an additional Sh320 million because the fall army worm invasion is bigger than initially thought,” said Clement Muyesu. These funds will help farmers access identified pesticides which are considered costly and also use insecticides effectively.

About The Worm

One theory explaining about its origins states that the eggs or the caterpillars themselves hitched a ride in some imported produce, or even made it on board commercial flights. The armyworm whose binomial name is Spodoptera exempta also called okalombo, kommandowurm, or nutgrass armyworm, is a moth.

This worm is a very dangerous pest, capable of destroying entire crops in a matter of weeks. The larvae feed on all types of grasses, early stages of cereal crops like, corn, rice, wheat, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, and occasionally on coconut.

The army worm gets its name from its habit of “marching” in large numbers from grasslands into crops. They tend to occur in very large numbers during the rainy season, especially after periods of prolonged drought. The worms breed fast and can migrate 100 kilometers a day.

Kenya is suffering from a drought that has left about 2.7 million people in need of food aid and driven up the inflation rate.

“The rainfall was better this season so we all expected a very good harvest. The outbreak of fall army worm undermines what we expected would be a different story,” Mulila Mitti said by phone from Nairobi, where the FAO is held a meeting to discuss the infestation.

Still in the same meeting experts said that spotting the pest early when it is still a larva is key to prevention. They also warn that unless the spread of the fall army worm is contained, the attack is likely to result to a crisis.

Counties that have been invaded by the worms are Nakuru, Trans Nzoia,Kwale, Uasin Gishu, Taita Taveta, Busia and Bungoma.

Why it is considered a threat

It is of unknown origin – Governments, communities and farmers have no previous experience of dealing with the new pest. In other words there hasn’t been a permanent way of dealing with the pest since its origin is unknown.

It travels over a long distance – The adult moth migrates long distances and that’s how it spreads to many places in the world.

It is very invisible – The fall army worm goes right into the stem of maize plants, concealing itself from being seen and preventing farmers from spotting the problem early.

It is very destructive – This pest targets maize and other cereal crops, but it also attacks cotton, soybean, and potato and tobacco crops. When it does invade, up to three-quarters of the crop can be destroyed.

Some solutions have been suggested according to a BBC new report such as use of insecticides in its early stages, burning the crops, digging trenches, employing natural predators, like birds, to eat the worms.

A long term solution should be decided to avoid Kenya being banned on exporting its agricultural products, like other countries which have been confirmed with outbreaks, have faced.