Posted on April, 28, 2017 at 10:35 am
THERE are fears of poor crop harvests in several parts of the country at the end of this farming season due to floods and plant pest invasions, mostly army worms and quelea quelea.
The situation is likely to cause food deficits in the regions of Njombe, Tabora, Singida and Manyara as floods wreaked havoc on roads and farms.
The floods also destructed irrigation schemes in Katavi Region.
According to the national food security bulletin for March released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the government
sprayed pesticides in all regions that reported plant pest invasions, and also rehabilitated the destroyed infrastructures.
The bulletin for February says apart from army worms and quelea quelea, other major pests that attacked crops were rodents and red locusts.
A quelea quelea outbreak was reported in Mbarali District (Kapunga estate, especially Mwashikamile and Lwanjili wards), Same District (the Ndungu Irrigation Scheme especially in Kalemawe, Maore, Ndungu and Kihurio wards) and Moshi District (Lower Moshi and Kahe areas).
Meanwhile, the outbreak of army worms was reported in Lindi Region (Mtama, Jamhuri and Ng’apa wards), Pwani Region (Mwateni, Utete, Ngorongoro, and Mhororo wards), Morogoro Region (Kilombero and Ifakara districts), and Rukwa Region (Nkasi District).
Rodents and locust outbreaks occurred in Iringa and Morogoro regions (Iringa District, Lindi District, Ruangwa, Kilwa, Kilombero, Kilosa and Liwale District).
The government is reported to have distributed a total of 120 litres of pesticide in Kilombero District and 50 litres in Rufiji District to fight against the army worms.
And according to the March bulletin, training was provided on improved crop production, crop diversification and marketing in order to increase household incomes.
Efforts were also done to improve market linkages and accessibility through construction of new roads and markets, and the introduction of regulations for the transport of commodities.
In the month of March, normal to above normal rainfall was observed over most of the country with Kigoma, Mbeya, Njombe, Iringa, Morogoro, Lindi, Mtwara and the southern part of Pwani Region experiencing highest levels.
Places like Lake Victoria basin, Manyara and Arusha regions received below normal rainfall. Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Mbeya regional commissioner Amos Makalla said: “Farms in Mbeya were attacked by army worms and quelea quelea, but they were controlled immediately by extension officers and experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.”
According to Makalla, the pests attacked paddy farms and crops in Mbarali District. He said since the region is among those that feed the country, farmers have been urged to only sell their harvest surplus to avoid hunger.
Iringa district commissioner Richard Kasesela said despite the plant pest threats, the district is expecting a good harvest of more than 70
per cent.
He said residents of Isimani and Idodi experienced other problems including drought and animal invasions in their farms, leading to crops being destroyed.
“The hunger threat is over...we now have enough rains. We thank the responsible ministries for the support to control pests and removal of animals from farms in Idodi,” Kasesela said, adding that residents have been urged to avoid planting late-maturing crop varieties.
The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, Mathew Mtigumwe, said recently that the government was aware of the presence of a new species of armyworms believed to have entered Rukwa Region via neighbouring Zambia.
He said about 15,000 litres of pesticides had been procured to curb the new worm's threat.
“We had to bring in new pesticides after it came to our notice that these are a new species known as fall armyworms, that hit maize crops and can’t be controlled by the available pesticides,” Mtigumwe was quoted saying.
Source: IPP Media