Kenya National Discourse Forum (KNDF)’s General Secretary, Mr Laban Korelach has called on the Kenyan Government to quickly come to the aid of maize farmers following the invasion of maize farms by the fall armyworm. 

Mr Laban sent this message at two days Farmers’ Workshop held at Cicada Hotel in Eldoret on April 12, 2018. He noted that Kenya could lose half of its maize crop and face a massive food crisis following an invasion by armyworms. Currently farms at the Coast, Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza are under threat the armyworms.

Despite the high speed of Armyworms spread, some maize farmers in South Rift areas of Kericho are turning to washing powder in a desperate bid to kill the dreaded Armyworm which has re-infested their maize farms.

This is despite lack of research to establish the effectiveness of the detergents against the worm and whether they have negative effects on consumers of the grain.

Mr. Samuel Sigei, a farmer at Kipsitet, Soin Sigowet sub-county, says he used four different pesticides but without success; he was advised to dilute Ariel powder soap and spray it on crop.

“I am seeing it working.  The attack is minimal on my side compared to the neighbouring farms,” he said.  He mixes 25 grammes of the detergent in 20 litres of water and sprays it on a one-acre farm.

Mr. Samuel says the experimentation was successful and effective “I took a bit of it, diluted it in some water, and dropped the worms in for about seven seconds.  They died within seconds,” he said.

Regina Eddy coordinator of USAid task force on the threat said that up to 50 per cent of the maize crop could be destroyed. The pest also attacks millet, sorghum, cotton and sugarcane.

Mr. Joseph Rotich, the deputy Kericho county director in charge of crop production, however, asked farmers in the area not to panic as measures had been put in place to control the spread.  He said the affected area was minimal compared to the total of 40,000 hectares under maize in the entire county.  

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture said it has sent technical teams to 42 counties to combat the pest. According to the director of Crop Research and Agribusiness in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Johnson Irungu, it is still early to predict the impact of fall army worm in the country. 

 

The Informed Rural Society (IRS) is a Non-Governmental Organization operating in Geita Region, Tanzania. It is a member of Tanzania National Discourse Forum (TNDF).  IRS has been a champion on environmental conservation in Geita District- Geita Region for over ten years.

 In October 2017, IRS launched a school tree planting program called “Mti wangu, Shule yangu, Maisha yangu” literally meaning “My tree, My school, My life”. The project aims at sensitizing and mobilizing secondary school students in Geita District in environmental conservation through planting trees. 

The Project involves 4 secondary schools in Geita District including Kalangalala, Mwatulole, Kivukoni and Kagu Secondary Schools.  The project intends to promote the tree planting culture in the entire society through school children. 

On the National Tree planting day in Geita Tanzania, held on 1st April 2018, the organization planted 150 trees in three schools namely Kalangalala Secondary School, Mwatulole Secondary school and Ukombozi Primary School.  During the exercise, the IRS team collaborated with Geita Town Council Officials including the District Forest Officer and other local government staff.

However, due to the unexpected turn out, IRS couldn’t supply enough seedlings to all schools hence it is still exploring ways of getting more to supply to these schools and promote long term commitment to greening the environment.

 

The East African Communities’ Organization for Management of Lake Victoria Resources - Tanzania chapter (ECOVIC) is a regional International Non-Government Organization with a Vision of Having a healthy and productive Lake Victoria Basin (LBV); and riparian communities living in a clean productive Lake Basin. The organization has been implementing activities that aim at protecting Lake Victoria's Zone 6 Regions namely Kagera, Mara, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Geita and Mwanza.