Kenya: Curb threat to maize crop
The warning by the Ministry of Agriculture of another fall armyworm invasion in the food basket region of the North Rift is bad news, indeed, coming at a time when farmers are preparing to plant this season’s crop. This pest is so destructive that it pains to imagine that the efforts farmers are making now could just go down the drain.
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It is, therefore, encouraging to note that the ministry has already sent out an alert. That the armyworm poses a grave threat to food security is evident in its fast spread across the country. After being sighted in western Kenya, it quickly spread to some 43 counties with the little pest’s voracious appetite spelling doom for farmers and the entire country.
Quite reassuring, however, is the report the ministry has released this month on the status of national food security, in which it is upbeat about the response to the threat. The ministry is happy about the enhanced pest management capacity.
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