Rampaging Soldiers: Fighting Fall Armyworms On Ghanaian Farms

They are called Fall Armyworms because they mainly emerge and destroy crops in Northern and Southern America during the fall season. And when they attack crop fields, they march along the ground like a vast army of worms in search of more food. From an initial figure of 1,400 hectares of affected farmlands as at May this year, more than 112,000 hectares of farm fields have been invaded by the Fall Army worm pests. In this second and concluding part of the Hotline Documentary christened, ‘RAMPAGING SOLDIERS,” we move the discussion forward from the vast devastation being caused by the pests and focus on possible options for effective combat in future. Two major concerns have dominated discussions since the outbreak of the Fall Armyworm pest. First, farmers complaining that the chemicals promised by government are not reaching them. And secondly, concerns that the chemicals being used by government under the free mass spraying exercise are failing farmers.

The latter concern was first raised by the Assin South District Chief Executive Derrick Owusu Ambrose who heads a local taskforce leading the fight against the pests. He said: “government has supplied chemicals. But it seems the rate at which the infestation is going, it is getting out of our hands. I don’t know if there has been some sort of resistance to the chemicals we have been using. We have been spraying but these same farms, you see re-infestation.”

Farmers resort to crude methods
Charles Nyaaba who is Programmes Officer of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana says it’s a widespread problem that is forcing farmers to rely on crude methods to deal with the pests. “When I spoke to farmers in Tumu, they said they use ‘omo’ and other detergents, put pepper inside and use to spray… And according to them, this is more effective than the chemicals they receive,” he said. But Dr. Irene Egyir of the School of Agriculture at the University of Ghana is cautioning against the practice. She notes that whiles these concoctions may yield short term good results, the medium to long term implications could be disastrous for humans. Dr. Egyir notes that unlike pesticides which have been tried and tested and there is evidence to show they will breakdown to less harmful substances upon consumption, same cannot be said for the detergents being used on the food crops. “We don’t know the residue levels of this concoctions,” she said, hinting further, it may have health implications.

Dr. Michael Osei Adu has been offering some suggestions on why the chemicals are failing the farmers. “To be able to control them, three things are critical. How they move, how they breathe, how the feed. They quickly develop resistance to chemicals. So if you think this is working and you keep applying, within a short time they evolve and develop resistance to it,” he explained.

Is elimination of pests possible?
Experts say the damage this year is extensive because the pesticides applied last year could not kill the Fall Armyworms completely. Agric Minister Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie is promising an end to the invasion this time around with the chemicals that have been imported. He told a media briefing: “The experience we gained from last year was that the army worm is very sensitive to the chemicals we applied and we are confident that once we have adequate application, we will be able to eliminate the danger.” But Crop Scientist at the University of Cape Coast Dr. Michael Osei Adu says that is not realistic. “From where I sit, I think elimination will be quiet difficult. They have these strategies and characteristics that makes it difficult to eliminate them. It’s very difficult if not impossible to get them out. They love the tropical, sub-tropical environments and so they are here to stay,” he said.

Panic response
When the outbreak was first reported, government announced the release of 16 million cedis for the purchase of chemicals for distribution to farmers. Government also set up a 16 member task force to help tackle the problem. But Dr. Michael Adu is not impressed. He describes government’s effort at managing the problem as a panicky reaction. “This one, it seems to me it was more of a panic response. So, we have not taken the three things I pointed out earlier into consideration. Did we actually think of how they move, how they breathe and how they feed before fashioning out the policy? Because if we are just giving out chemicals for spraying, have there been training?” Dr. Adu quizzed. “So the policy in itself, I won’t fault it but I think it’s been a panic response, it’s been adhoc and there hasn’t been adequate planning. And if we are not careful, the pests in Ghana, they are going to be resistant and they are going evolve,” he warned.

Food security under threat
A recent report commissioned by the UK government and undertaken by the Center for Agric and Biosciences International CABI estimates Ghana may lose up to $163 million in 2017 as a result of the invasion. Across Africa, the loss will be 13 billion US dollars and will cause a 9 percent reduction in the continent’s GDP. Programmes Manager of the Peasant Farmers Association Charles Nyaaba fears the country’s food security is seriously threatened as a result of the pests because some farmers are refusing to plant this year. “Many farmers who prepared their lands to plant, because of what happened to their colleagues, they stopped,” he said.

Member of Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee Eric Osei Owusu is equally worried about the possible impact of the situation on the country’s food security. “It is a very serious challenge for our farmers. And that is the reason why government should be proactive in fighting it. It’s a serious threat to our food security, and especially with this planting for food and jobs, it has to be tackled head on or else it will bring down this whole policy,” he said. The National Buffer Stock Company is the foremost institution tasked with helping the country deal with food insecurity. They are supposed to stockpile food during the major seasons and release them onto the market during scarcity. Its Chief Executive Abdul Wahab Hanan admits the country’s food security will be hit badly by the Fall Armyworm pests. “It’s a threat to food security… What we have lost is over 70,000 bags of maize. It’s not the best but we are doing everything possible to curb the situation,” he assured.

To avert such threat in future, Dr. Ernest Teye of the University of Cape Coast’s School of Agriculture is asking government to prioritise the Buffer Stock project. “The armyworm that is coming up now, if we had advanced in our drying and dried enough and stored, we can at least be able to fight them head on and still have food in storage. But if we want to continue planting and eating, we are going to have a problem. Let’s have a lot more dried food. Easy to plant transport, easy to store,” he explained. But Deputy Agric Minister Dr. Sagre Bambagni says the invasion is under control and the country’s food security is not at risk. “The amount that has been destroyed is just about 6 percent of farm fields. We do not expect it to go up to 10 percent. We know that individual farmers might be affected but overall food security, we may even have net gain in terms of increase in food production,” he explained.

Various stakeholders are however not convinced. “For most of our members from Ejura, Donkorkrom, Techiman, Kintampo, Garu, Zabzugu, Tumu, and elsewhere, the situation keeps increasing. I don’t have any figures but from what I have from members, I have reason to believe that the problem has gone out of control,” Charles Nyaaba of the Peasant Farmers Association said. The Ghana Agric Workers Union GAWU is not convinced either. “The fact that we are unable to control it….” Edward Karuweh who is Deputy General Secretary of GAWU told Joy Business. Member of Parliament for Mion Constituency Mohammed Abdul Aziz who recently summoned the Agric Minister to parliament over the armyworm issue is worried hundreds of farmers are struggling to pay back their debt as a result of the situation. “In my constituency, some 600-700 hectares of farmlands have been affected. These peasant farmers go for credit to do an acre or two only for this Fall Armyworm to affect their farm, ravage their farm… How will they pay the loans?” he quizzed.

How did the Fall Armyworms get here?
The first incidence of the pest was recorded in Africa last year and has since spread like wild fire to more than 20 African countries including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Kenya, among others. Dr. Michael Osei Adu wonders why officials at the country’s entry points could not work effectively to stop it. “These pests have been classified according to the dangers they pose and Europe is able to intercept products that they believe have potential danger to their agriculture. What is the status quo at the port now in Ghana? Is it just you declaring what you are bringing in and somebody visually inspection them? If that is the case, then that is not good enough…,” he noted. “So we need to have the tools. If we even need to have some quick diagnostic materials and the training to be able to quickly check these things that will be fine. Currently, the visual inspection is not good enough,” Dr. Adu added.

Dr. Audrey Vanderpuye of the School of Agriculture at the University of Cape Coast is asking government to better resource various agencies at the agric ministry to help avert such destruction in future. “The Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) which is supposed to be the national plant protection organisation in this country must be resourced to do its work properly. Because the materials came through a consignment of goods. If they were well resourced, they would have determined at the port before bringing it in. They will probably have contained it at the port,” she said in an interview with Joy news.

“So the PPRSD must be well resourced to do its work. There should be a surveillance team in the country and all they have to do is regularly monitor pests, relate them to the conditions of the environment so they can forecast whether there are likely to be outbreaks or not so farmers can put plans in place to manage them,” Dr. Vanderpuye added. Environmental and climatic analyses of Africa show that the Fall Army Worms are likely to build permanent and significant populations in West, Central and Southern Africa, and spread to other regions when weather or temperatures are favourable. So how do we deal with them going forward? Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) officials have been offering some suggestions, cautioning government against over reliance on pesticides. Director of Flour Production and Protection Division at FAO in Rome, Hans Dreyer told Joy news in an interview: “The main thing is to try to enhance biological control. The key recommendation is not to intervene too early with chemical products. Because if you intervene quickly with chemicals, you kill their natural enemies.”

What should be done differently?
President of the Chamber of Agribusiness Executives Anthony Morrison says government needs to provide adequate support to extension agents if it is serious about dealing with the problem. “Government must provide logistics to the extension offices. Because without them, farmers may not have the necessary logistics to stop the spread,” he said.

In Southern American countries, they have resorted to the use of Genetically Engineered crops to deal with the Fall Armyworm, a move Dr. Michael Adu believes Ghana can consider. “Yes, I believe Genetic Engineering is something we need to exploit. Using Bt crops is one that we can exploit. But also using bio pesticides. Some of them are produced from the Bt products where it becomes toxic for the pests. As a country, if we are serious about our food security, we cannot forever run away from genetic engineering. It holds potentials for us to exploit,” he said. One thing is certain; the Fall Army Worms are here to stay. We can only hope agricultural officials on the continent will get on top of the situation before it gets any worse.

Below is the link to the second part of the documentary:

By Joseph Opoku Gakpo