Officials in Malawi have announced that army-worms have destroyed 2,000 hectares of crops in the country. The worms have also spread to nine of the country’s 28 districts in the last few weeks.
The agriculture minister, George Chaponda told Reuters on Saturday that “The latest is that the invasion is spreading very quickly than we thought and this week nine districts have been affected destroying 2,000 hectares of crop fields,”
This is not the first time Malawi had to struggle to contain the spread of armyworms. Last year the country succeeded in containing the worms’ invasion. The impact of that invasion was however worrying as Malawi was hit by drought.
Malawi’s neighbour Zambia has also been hit by the worms’ invasion with military personnel deployed to battle them.
The armyworms move in large groups feasting on young maize plants and end up wiping out entire fields.
Source: Africafeeds.com
