The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) says the fall armyworms, which have devastated large acres of farmlands, cannot be eradicated completely.
According to the Ministry, a more integrated and holistic approach is currently being adopted to help manage the pests which have since 2016 invaded farms across the country.
The approach would among other things, include the deployment of pheromone trap in every region, as well as traine MoFA Staff and farmers on how to identify and manage armyworm manifestation.
“Like other invasive pest which have acclimatized in our sub-region the fall has come to stay and become a regional problem,” the director of Plant Protection and Regulatory Services at the Ministry, Dr Felicia Ansah said.
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The incidence of fall armyworm was reported in April 2016 in the Yilo Krobo municipality in the Eastern Region and has since 2017 spread to all the regions of the country.
Millet, onion, rice and sorghum were affected by the disease.
A multi-disciplinary national task force was drawn from the Ministry, development partners and other agencies to develop and implement strategies for the management of the worm.
Government approved and released funds for the fight in 2017 but the pests have not been totally eradicated.
Many fear the fall armyworms my resurface as the country enters into the new crop season.
But Dr. Ansah is positive that the approach adopted by the ministry will go a long way to contain the fall armyworm to manageable levels.
Dr. Ansah“There’s therefore the need to holistically manage [it] so as to reduce its adverse effects on agriculture. With this in mind we have put in place short, medium and long term management measures with the support of international partners such as the FAO and development partners. We have adopted a regional approach to ensure effective management of the fall”
By 3news.com|Ghana
Source:
3News
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