African experts call for common continental approach to armyworm problem

African experts are calling for a common continental approach to deal with the Fall Armyworm invasion that has hit farms across the continent.

They say this is important to ensure effective control of the pests which have ravaged farms over the last two years and threatened the food security of millions of people.

“If it has been contained in America, we can also contain it in Africa. But we need to work together as one in African,” Philibert Nyinondi, a Researcher at the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania said at a forum at in the US that screened a Joy News documentary on the invasion.

The documentary titled ‘Rampaging Soldiers’ which was produced by Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo was shown at an Environmental Justice Series event organized by environment focused group, Cornell Environmental Collaborative and ‘Ghanaians at Cornell’ on the campus of the Ivy League institution Cornell University in Ithaca – New York State – USA.

The documentary was first aired in August this year on JOYNEWS on Multi TV discusses the spread of Fall Armyworm, a pest native to America which was first detected in Africa last year.

‘Poison on the Menu’ is another documentary produced by Mr Opoku Gakpo which tells the story of increasing cases of food poisoning as a result of the misuse of chemicals on growing vegetables, was also screened.

The event was on the theme, “Fighting Invasive Pests on African Farms: Are there alternatives to chemical application?"

Philibert Nyinondi noted the invasion of the pests have caused significant damage to farm fields in Tanzania as has been the case in several parts of the continent, saying “scientists were taken by surprise.”

The Fall Armyworm which was first detected in Africa in 2016 has now spread to more than 25 African countries, invading about 117,000 hectares of farm fields in Ghana alone.

Government earlier this year announced the allocation of 16 million cedis ($4m) for the purchase of chemicals and education to deal with the invasion.

Opoku Gakpo who spoke at the event expressed worry continuous dependence on pesticides to deal with the pests could damage the environment and harm human health.

“It’s about time that we all think about possible other options to combating these deadly pests,” he added.

Participates in the screening gave good reviews of the documentary.

“I thought they were really enlightening…the one about the armyworm raises issues about food and environmental justice and how if African farmers don’t use pesticides, they may not survive.

It’s always good to bring that into context that people are not always as privileged to pay attention to the environment more because they are desperate to survive,” Mitchell Lee, one of the participants said.

Dennis Delasi Nyanyo, a Biology Student and Co-President at Ghanaians @ Cornell noted: “it is really important that we got to see the food supply chain in Ghana because most of this is very invisible to we the consumer."

"And so just being able to see what is happening and the conditions affecting farmers is really important for us,” he said.

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