Like COVID-19 Fall Army Worms have Come to Stay – Agric Minister

The Ministry for Food Agriculture seems to have given up on the quest to find a permanent solution to the Fall Army Worm invasion on farm lands in Ghana as the Food and Agriculture Minister rules out the possibility of permanently tackling the invasion anytime soon.

Fall Army Worm, which is a chronic pest which can cause severe damage to grass and forage crops, is feared to have the potential to pose threats to Ghana’s food security in the medium to long term since measures taken by government in the past two years have failed to eliminate the pest which were hitherto more endemic in the Eastern and Southern regions of Africa.

It is on record that the Fall Army Worms have been wreaking havoc on maize farms as well as rice, groundnuts and sorghum farms in the country. Since the pest was detected in the country some three years ago, it is said to have attacked more than 50,000 hectares of farms, nationwide.

A recent statement from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has announced a resurgence of the pest in the country and has therefore charged farmers to report early signs of the worm on their farms for prompt actions to be taken.

Addressing the issue in an interview with Opera News, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Akoto Afriyie indicated that the Fall Army Worm should now be considered as a household phenomenon which can only be managed but cannot be permanently eliminated.

He said, “The fall army worm has come to stay with us. Let me tell you, just like COVID-19 will never go away from Ghana or from the world. It will be like a flu or malaria and so is fall army worm. These are biological phenomena, once they come they don’t go away you have to find a way to manage it.”

The Agric Minister indicated observed that as far as his Ministry is concerned, the Fall Army Worm is no longer an issue they want to worry their head about. According to him, they have resolved to manage the situation as and when the infestations are detected.

He said the farmers have been given the necessary guidelines to detect and deal with the situation when it arises and to report to the right authorities as soon as the worm is spotted on their farms.

“We have a way to manage it. Farmers are very acute in the way to manage it. We are giving them the necessary chemicals and so on, so for us in the ministry it is no longer an issue,” the Minister assured.

Source: Clement Akoloh || parliamentnews360.com