Armyworms have invaded farms at Nabdam District in the Upper East Region and are destroying crops at a fast rate.
The pests have eaten deep into the stalks and bitten into the leaves of the crops, particularly maize crops, with a devastating spread over several farmlands in most communities of the district.
Some of the farmers who expressed worry over the invasion and shared their ordeal with the GNA, noted that the invasion of the pest coupled with the high cost of fertilizer was a major threat to their farming activities and could result in low yield.
Mr Goubagre Sampana, a one-time District best Farmer, said the situation was becoming an annual occurrence, causing them to lose their investments and discouraging potential farmers who otherwise would have ventured into farming to increase the food basket
“This destruction in addition to the cost of fertilizer, is making us lose our investment because we spend so much fighting these pests and at the same time on fertilizer,” he added.
“Year in and year out we experience the invasion of these armyworms on our farms, and it is so demoralizing to those who have been farming for years, so you can imagine young people who may wish to venture into farming,” he said .
Mr Saah Zoya, a farmer, said there was the need for the government to act promptly by helping them with pesticides to fight the pests.
This, the farmer explained, would help contain the spread of the armyworms onto uninfected farms and reduce the financial burden on them.
Mr Joseph Adjabui, the District Director of the Department of Agriculture told the GNA that its attention has been drawn to the invasion of the armyworms in some communities of the district and officers were on ground assessing farmlands
He added that the government had provided some pesticides to help farmers and in time they would be given the needed support.