The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organisation and the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative have partnered to implement integrated management strategies for managing fall armyworm.
KALRO Director General Dr. Eliud Kireger said that the KAFACI Fall Armyworm Project has been diligently collaborating with farmers in Machakos County to validate the value of integrated pest management in combating the pest.
“Integrated pest management offers a more sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach to fall armyworm control by incorporating a range of strategies and focusing on long-term prevention and reduction of pest populations,” said Kireger.
Kireger, in a speech read on his behalf by KALRO Deputy Director-General Crops Dr Felister Makini during the 2023 progress monitoring meeting of the ‘integrated management of fall armyworm for sustainable food security in Africa’ held at a Nairobi Hotel, said that they have received reports that farmers are enthusiastically embracing these technologies and underscored their transformative impact on managing the pest, resulting in increased maize yields.
He said the initiative aims to enhance maize productivity by effectively managing the Fall Armyworm and added that it has made remarkable strides in maize production not only in Kenya but on a broader scale within the African continent.
“Kenya stands as one of the foremost nations in white maize consumption, with a current per capita rate of 60 kilogrammes nationally per year and 103 kilogrammes per person in rural areas,” explained Kireger.
He explained that in Kenya, the development of value addition in maize and its products is an ongoing process, and presently, maize finds its applications in confectionery, alcoholic drinks, and as a major source of animal feed.
“Maize production in Kenya has been on a continuous expansion trajectory since the 1960’s until 2017, when the Fall Armyworm invaded the maize-growing regions of the country.
“This invasive pest has presented a significant agricultural challenge in many regions, especially Africa, where it has brought considerable devastation to maize production, leading to substantial losses in agricultural activities,” he said.
He added that the invasion of the Fall Armyworm had led to an increase in the cost of production as farmers used pesticides to control the disease, resulting in a reduction in maize production, leading to a surge in imports and causing food insecurity and higher prices.
“The most affected households are the most vulnerable and least equipped to sustainably manage the Fall Armyworm,” said Kireger.
He noted that in one of the research studies conducted under KAFACI on Fall Armyworm in Kenya in 2020, results revealed that most farmers had to apply up to five sprays in a season to control the worm, and still they recorded over 50 per cent yield losses and zero yields without pesticide application.
KAFACI Executive Secretary Keunpyo Lee said that the Fall Armyworm Project was arrived at after discussions with several African countries, and seeing that the worm is a serious problem, the Korean government decided to take up the issue.
Lee said that they are operating in 16 African countries, and he called on African countries to enhance their capacity for monitoring and evaluating the Fall Armyworm and developing the appropriate technologies for protecting maize and other crops from the invasion by the pests.
“The initiative is a five-year project with the possibility of an extension if the Fall Armyworm persists in the region,” said Lee.
He explained that the project has been funded to a tune of US$ 1.6 million, with each country receiving US$ 20,000 per year for the five-year period, thus totaling US$ 100, 000 per country for the entire period.
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) Principal Scientist Subramanian Sevgan said that he has been working on Fall Armyworm Management for over 40 years, and they have seen that from the initial stages when the worm invaded Kenya and caused extensive damage, the pest is settling down in terms of damage level and the damage is coming down.
“The levels are not down to a level where we can say it is not a problem anymore, but the damages are not to the extent of the hype that we had previously,” said Sevgan.
He explained that they have tested various technologies and realised that some, like intercropping maize and legumes like beans or foliage, reduce Fall Armyworm damage by up to 60 per cent, almost the same rate as synthetic pesticides.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
