Kabompo District Senior Agriculture Officer, Mweemba Solani says about 825 hectares of maize fields in the area have been attacked and ravaged by the Fall armyworms.
Mr. Solani said about 539 households in six camps have so far been affected by the pests.
He disclosed this in a presentation to the district epidemic preparedness committee in Kabompo.
Mr Solani said the office of the Provincial Agriculture Coordinator has promptly responded to the situation by distributing some chemicals to the affected areas.
“The office of the PACO has already responded by giving us 100 liters of the chemicals which remained last farming season but the district requires 1,000 liters to fully service all the affected farmers,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, Mr Solani appealed to farmers to ensure they do not plant their crops near rivers this year as the district is expected to have floods according to the weather forecast from Metrological department.
“We are appealing to our farmers that they should protect their crops this farming season by not planting around the river banks or plains as we expect floods in the district,” he said.
And speaking in a separate interview today, one of the affected farmers from Chikata Agriculture Camp, Alice Fundulu has appealed to government for a quick response in supplying more chemicals to the affected farmers.
“As you can see almost all the fields around Kabompo are in the same state of damage. I have received some chemicals but others are still waiting meaning other fields are still being attacked,” she said.
Speaking earlier at the epidemic preparedness committee meeting, Kabompo District Commissioner, Patrick Kasoka said he was aware of the situation on the ground which has affected farmers in the area.
“I am aware of the situation and I would like to inform you that the Permanent Secretary is on top of things by trying to liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture so that North-western Province gets its fair share of help in that area as the pests have not only affected Kabompo but other districts as well,” he said.
Oh no…this is sad development…
Food security in trouble
This is sad development
A big threat to our food security
What kind of “chemicals”, is it Pesticide or some expired things from Honey Bee thieves?
As a note of intrest , a Chinese company is harnessing the power of red ants to sweep fields of any pests.
Research is at an advanced stage , and the red ants would be dropper off in portable homes/boxes in fields to do the hunting for a few days then moved on to the next field.
The Chinese already use truck loads of ducks to eat pests in rice paddy fields.