By Collins Chirinda

26 March 2018 – The recent outbreak of the fall army worm, with Chipinge being the most recent, has once again exposed ill preparedness on the part of the government which has time and again failed to contain similar outbreaks.

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) has devastated Southern Africa and Zimbabwe in particular for the last two farming seasons.

Scientists have come up with different theories that could help in dealing with the fall armyworm plague namely chemical control, use of genetically modified cereal crop which will kill the army worm upon consuming it, cultural control including but not limited to early planting and destroying maize stalks after harvesting and lastly biological control in the form of introducing their prime predator, the Trichogramma wasps.

The Zimbabwean government has however not visibly enacted parallel measures to contain the persistent outbreaks of the armyworm in the country and has therefore failed in its mandate to guarantee food security in the country.

Since 2016, the fall army worm plague has been overwhelming not only Zimbabwe but the whole SADC region and it seems the problem has been recurrent during the past two farming seasons.

Statistics published in The Herald newspaper of March 5 2018 indicate that at least 6% of the crops in each province and an average 15% of the crops countrywide have been affected by army worm this agricultural season and this can be credited to poor planning on the part of the government.

Agriculture being the mainstay of the economy, the country should prioritise it and we should not be facing the challenges being discussed here.

In 2017, research studies found out that an estimated yield loss of $76 million to $190 million worth of crops (particularly maize) would be incurred if proper measures to contain the fall armyworm outbreak were not implemented.

Containment measures implemented by government however reduced the damage and the losses did not soar as anticipated earlier but, it should be noted, were and are still insufficient to make a positive mark on crop devastation by armyworm which has visibly gone out of hand.

The country faces the same fate this year if the fall army worm problem is not countered as a matter of urgency.

So one might ask, why is the problem of the armyworm recurring every year from 2016 to date?

Evidently the government does not have an airtight contingency plan to avert further attacks from the fall armyworm.

The government through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement has trained farmers and provided chemicals for the treatment of crops but most farmers lament the inadequacy of the chemicals but this has seemed insufficient as the country is still battling recurrent outbreaks of the fall armyworm.

However, owing to climate change, dealing with the armyworm can easily become a mammoth task for the government especially with the current economic status quo prevailing in the country which has led to the government failing to adequately address the fall armyworm scourge.

It has been estimated that a farmer needs about $270 worth of pesticides to treat one hectare of land, a cost which is above the reach of many communal farmers who make up the majority of farmers in Zimbabwe.

“Most of these chemicals are very expensive for us. Some retailers have taken advantage of the cash crisis and they have hiked prices depending on the mode of payment and this has made the situation worse. Some of us cannot afford the chemicals to treat the crops.” said one farmer.

Another aspect that further exacerbates the situation is that the worm thrives in warm moist climates and with the fact that it is alien to the Sub-Saharan Africa environment and that it has adapted perfectly to it, one can deduce that it is exponentially difficult to contain it.

“In Gwanda the crop is heavy infested, in a field you find hundred percent infestation level but that does not mean farmers will not get anything. With early control, they can get yields and that is why we are here to impart knowledge to the community,” said Mr Shingirayi Nyamutukwa, acting head of the Plant Protection Research Institute.

The governments of Southern Africa and Zimbabwe in particular should experiment and implement radical measures such as these to combat this plague, left unchecked the whole SADC region could be looking at irreversible damages in the form of perennial droughts.