The pests have destroyed 2,000 hectares of crops in the district, spreading to six towns in the last two days, the agriculture coordinator in the county has said. Nah said the armyworms have attacked crops in the six towns – and considering the poor rain prospects this will affect the harvest immensely. According to him, the outbreak poses a significant threat to smallholder farmers, mainly maize farmers and has become a threat to food security. “Farmers should not have planted maize again having struggled with the pests for the better of the year. Benson Kolliegboe, a farmer in Kpaquelleh, is among those who planted maize in June because he thought the pests had been eradicated.

Source: Front Page Africa July 14, 2020 07:18 UTC