Looming food insecurity as army worms invade several farmlands in the Northern Region

Ghana may be under threat of a looming food crisis if the situation of army worm invasion in many farmlands across the country is not dealt with.

The attacks have been consistent and widespread, affecting several farmlands across the country, and leading to the destruction of yields.

Moving like a troop of soldiers, the fall army worms are reducing the harvest and crop production processes.
The impact of the invasion is fast growing as several farmers are continuously losing their crops and produce.

The pests bite deep into the stalks and into the leaves of the crops with the destruction widespread over several acres of farm lands.

Farmers across the country, particularly in the North are lamenting about the situation, the attacks according to them, are destroying their farms and depriving them of their yields.
“The worms are just frustrating our efforts, all our monies are being wasted, government must intervene”, one farmer said in an interview with GHOne TV.

Municipal Chief Executive for Yendi, Alhaji Ahmed Abubakar indicated that government’s efforts at tackling the situation since the invasion in 2016 is rather “too slow” to save the looming food insecurity situation that may result from this.
“It is not proper for them to wait until the harm is caused before you come out with huge sums of money to buy chemicals and you buy chemicals when the harm has already been caused…you’ll use them and nothing will be recovered”, he said.

The fear for many farmers is that the country may be plunged into a state of food insecurity since most of the crops, particularly maize which is used for the preparation of many staple foods in Ghana is being affected.

Following the invasion by the pests in several parts of the country, Ghana’s parliament the Agriculture Minister requested that Parliament declares a ‘state of emergency’ over an armyworm invasion that threatens a $133m project (560 million cedis).

The sector minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie, in a memo to the Cabinet asked the legislature to allow unbudgeted funds for a mass spraying exercise to combat the invasion, local media portal myjoyonline reports.

The Minister is reported to have described the armyworms as being capable of leveling farms to ‘ground zero,’ hence the need for urgent action to avert the looming crisis.