Ejisu Juaben: Armyworms Invades Cocoa Farms

Many acres of cocoa farms have been destroyed amid armyworms, in the Ejisi-Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

The occurrence has crippled the hopes of these farmers who solely depends on their farms as their only source of livelihood, to support their families.

The worms according to officials, have destroyed large swaths of cocoa farms within 24 hours, boring holes in the pods and leaves of the plants and impeding their growth.

Mr. Thomas Muller, one of the farmers whose farmland is located at Atia, one of the affected communities, expressed shock when he visited his cocoa farm one morning and realized that, most of the cocoa pods had virtually been consumed by the worms.

“These animals have been destroying our farms for quite some time now and they have reduced our crop yield. they are seen every cocoa growing season. it’s being a headache battling these worms.” He lamented.

He said, but for the timely intervention by extension officers, hundreds of acres of their farms would have been destroyed by the worms.

Mr. Solomon Kumah, the district extension officer of the area, said in an interview with News Ghana that, his outfit would assist the affected farmets to “reorganize their farms”.

Armyworm is part of the order of lepidoptera and is the larval {see caterpillar} life stage of a fall armyworm moth. It is regarded as a pest and can wreak havoc with crops if left to multiply. Its name is derived from its feeding habits.

Armyworms are active during the evening, they eat anything green in sight and are said can multiply at a fast rate.

By : Sammy Adjei / Newsghana.com.gh

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