Farmers urged to properly apply chemicals to combat army worms

The Director of Crops, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Asante Krobea, has advised farmers to properly follow guidelines in applying chemicals to combat the army worms.
 
This follows complains that the chemicals are ineffective. 
 
In an interview with GBC's Radio Ghana, Mr. Asante urged farmers who are facing challenges to contact the extension officers for assistance.  

He said the farmers need to spray their farms three times in two weeks and the Ministry is ensuring that the chemicals are available in the districts to contain the situation.

The Chairman of the National Farmers and Fishermen Association, Davis Korboe, has asked farmers to report early, any sign of army worm invasion to the authorities.  

He appealed to the MInistry of Food and Agriculture to liaise with farmer based Organisations to fight the worms.
  
Mr. Korboe said the attack by the army worms could affect the planting for Food and Jobs policy if it continues.

There are reports that the army worms have destroyed more than 1,350 hectares of farms in the Central Region. 522 hectares of farmland have also been infested.
  
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture distributed chemicals to the affected areas to fight the worms, but are the farmers applying them properly on the farms? 

Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has advised beneficiary farmers of the government’s free supply of chemicals to fight the fall army worms by applying the chemicals according to specifications to achieve the desired results. 

Mr. Mensah said failure by the farmers to follow the prescribed instructions could cause resistance among the fall army worms against the chemicals and that could negatively affect government’s efforts at controlling the pests. 

Speaking to journalists at Ejura after inspecting infested maize farms, the Regional Minister expressed fear that the fall armyworms could soon attack other crops if preventive and proactive measures are not put in place to control them. 

It was noted that about 600 acres of  maize farms cultivated by the National Service Scheme at Ejura aside farms under the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme have been destroyed by the worms thereby threatening food security in the country this year.
 
This is because, Ejura is well noted as a major cereal producing district of the country and that whatever affects farming there has  rippling effects on the food production capacity of the country. 

The Regional Minister used the opportunity to inspect some Ejura town road projects.

He said he will not sign any of the six certificates covering road projects presented to him because the road, which is approximately six kilometers, has been awarded to six different contractors.

Mr. Osei Mensah said he will return the documents and inform the Minister of Roads to cause an audit to determine the true length of the project and the actual cost of it before he approves the certificates for payment.

GBCONLINE