Fmdr-Zambia May/June 2016 Farmers Review Africa Jan/Feb 2017 | Page 8

News

Alien army worms invade corn in drought-hit southern Africa

A�er southern Africa ' s worst drought in more than 35 years ravaged crops and sent food prices soaring , farmers are battling a new crisis : alien armyworms .
Godwin Mukenani Mwiya rst noticed caterpillars chewing through his corn eld south of Lusaka , Zambia ' s capital , near the end of December . Two weeks later , he ' d lost half his crop to the pest that ' s already invaded more than 10 percent of farms in the country and spread to Zimbabwe and Malawi .
�e fall armyworm that ' s native to the Americas has arrived in southern Africa for the rst time , wiping out tens of thousands of acres of corn elds . For a region trying to recover from drought , the pest brings renewed fears of food shortages and in ation . �e United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization says the effects could be devastating for the area if its spread isn ' t controlled . “ It ' s really a national disaster because as you can see , half of my crop is gone ,” Mwiya , a 56- year-old retired teacher who ' s been farming for a decade , said as he scanned his ravaged eld . “ �is has hit me below the belt .”
About 32 million people in the region with a population of 236 million will be food insecure from June 2016 to March this year , the Regional Interagency Standing Committee for southern Africa , which includes the United Nations , said in a report . Prices for white corn , a staple , are about 50 percent above the ve-year average in July , it said .
Cannibal Caterpillars “ If not controlled in the countries affected , it
will have devastating effects not only in those countries , but neighboring countries too , because the spread capacity of this pest is very high ,” said David Phiri , who co-ordinates the FAO ' s operations in southern Africa , where corn is a staple food . African armyworms , a close relative , are common on the continent . Malawi fought off an invasion a year ago , while an outbreak in late 2012 contributed to an 11 percent reduction in Zambia ' s corn production the following year . �e fall armyworm grows to a similar size of about 4 centimeters ( 1.6 inches ). Besides preying on crops , fall armyworms can become cannibalistic , eating competitors such as the African variety , according to a study by scientists including Goergen published in October . Severe outbreaks usually arrive with the start of the rains , especially a�er a long period of drought , according to the study .
How did the pest arrive in Africa ? �e answer isn ' t yet clear , though Goergen says there is evidence that there were at least two separate introductions . One of the theories he ' s investigating is that the moths ew over the Atlantic ocean . �at would mean a journey of at least 3,000 kilometers between the closest points of South America and Africa . “ Among the speculations , climate changeinduced variations in high-altitude wind streams may have favored the shi� from one continent to another ,” he said in reply to e- mailed questions .
Provinces Invaded
Regardless of how the pests got to the continent , their destructive capacity is clear for growers like Mwiya . His farm is part of the more than 10 percent of Zambia ' s cultivated land that ' s so far been attacked .
In Zimbabwe , the caterpillars had already invaded seven of the eight provinces where corn is grown . It ' s yet to be detected in South Africa , the continent ' s biggest producer of the grain , with the government raising an alert and preparing contingency plans in case of an outbreak , said Jan Hendrik Venter at the Department of Agriculture , Forestry and Fisheries ' Plant Health Early Warnings unit . Zimbabwe and Zambia are trying to contain the outbreak , with the latter declaring it a national crisis and deploying the air force to help distribute pesticide .
“ �ere is no doubt that the introduction of this new pest will have lasting consequences for the farmer and food security in tropical Africa ,” said Goergen . “ �ere is de nitively an urgent need to develop local solutions building on the experience in the Western Hemisphere and adapting them .” �e drought is easing in some areas , and “ generally good rainfall ” is forecast for the southern and central parts of the region , increasing chances for better production , the U . S . Agency for International Development ' s Famine early Warning Systems Network and the Southern African Development Community said in December . “ However , the armyworm outbreak threatens some reversals of these gains .”
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