Ethiopia urges intesified efforts to combat spread of armyworm

ADDIS ABABA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources on Wednesday urged institutions across Ethiopia to intensify efforts to tackle the impact of the fall armyworm.

The east African country has recently announced that the fall armyworm has spread into six major maize harvesting regions in the country, partially-damaging over 145,000 hectares of maize production across the country.

Primarily spotted in Ethiopia in late February 2017, the insect has been rapidly expanding its presence over the past three months. The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources warns that the insect could still spread to other parts of the country and be more devastating, unless strict measures are taken.

Institutions throughout the east African country must jointly combat the impact imposed by the dangerous pest, Ethiopian News Agency quoted Daniel Dentamo, Ministry's Public Relations head, as saying.

Agricultural crops harvested in Ethiopia such as maize, soya bean, groundnuts, and potatoes are amongst of over 100 crops that are said to be highly vulnerable to the insect.

Dentamo further recommended awareness-raising measures that target farmers in the affected and vulnerable regions.

The joint effort has so far helped to save over 81,000 hectares of land that was covered by maize production, and over 100,000 liter of pesticide has been distributed to over 209,000 farmers across the affected areas, Dentamo said.

Fall armyworm, the larva of night-flying moth, is a pest indigenous to the Americas. After it was first detected in 2016 in Nigeria and other African countries, the worm was first intercepted on an irrigated maize field in the southern Ethiopia early this year. Read more here