NAIROBI, KENYA: Silas Kiprono was expecting a bumper harvest from his 500 acres of maize field when the unexpected happened.

As he inspected his maize field one morning, he noticed rugged holes on the green succulent leaves.

He had heard from fellow maize farmers in Trans Nzoia of creatures that attacked maize ‘skeletonising’ every leaf they came by.

No one had foreseen the appearance of the fall armyworm, a migratory pest that ended up crashing the hopes of maize farmers not just on the vast maize fields in Trans Nzoia, but in many other regions in Kenya.

Normally, Mr Kiprono harvests 30 bags of maize from each acre of his land and sells the produce to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). The region makes one of the country’s largest food baskets, where a significant amount of maize is harvested both for seed and consumption.

This time however, Kiprono who is yet to embark on this year’s post-harvest activities, says he can only expect the worst harvest he has ever made in years.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  State waives duty for steel tycoon equipment to build Sh11b plant
• 
  Most food warehouses fail to meet standards

“Things are bad this year. I can’t even lie to myself that I will manage half of what I usually get,” Kiprono says. 

Kiprono was just one of hundreds of farmers who bore the brunt of the fall armyworm infestation.

The pest known to originate from Mexico was first reported in March in parts of Western Kenya and has been a headache for maize farmers for the better part of this year.

According to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), fall armyworm was reported to have infested parts of the Coast region by July.

Green Arava Chairman and Chief Agronomist Yariv Kedar said the worm had invaded various farms in Tana River, where the Israeli firm also runs the government sponsored Galana Kulalu project.

“The pests travel very fast. They also swarm upon anything that looks green from the skies, so yes, our project was invaded as well,” Mr Yariv tells Smart Harvest.

A dry area, Galana is attractive to the pests whose metabolic activity increases when it is hot. When subjected to this conducive environment, the pest lays 2,000 eggs which hatch in two weeks. The eggs are sheathed in a protective protein, which shields them from pesticide chemicals and from being eaten by natural predators.

Interventions

In rainy seasons, the cold blooded species either drowns or hibernates, stops feeding and dies.

As the year ends, agricultural experts estimate that farmers have lost up to 20 per cent of their produce to the pest this year.

National Agriculture Research Centre Director at KALRO, Dr Muo Kasina, says the loss could have been enormous had interventions not been put in place.

Dr Muo says the research body reported the early cases of the invasion to the government and was immediately given a go ahead to tackle the pest.

In co-ordination with the organisation’s plant protection division, KALRO set about sensitising farmers on early detection of the pest and mitigation options.

“It is true that farmers have lost a great deal. Generally, it has been a 20 per cent loss depending on the response of farmers on our sensitisation activities,” Dr Muo says.

He says the farmers were educated on scouting for early cases of invasion and the responsible use of pesticides.

In their 65 hectares in Galana, Yariv said young people were trained as scouts and put in charge of a section of the farm.

The farm was divided into quarters of 40 acres which were further divided into smaller 10-metre cubicles.

Statistics were taken individually from every portion of land in case of invasion by aphids, stalk borer and any other invaders.

“Pests attack plants as young as two leaves old. The earlier you take down the observations, the better for early intervention,” Yariv said.

On the use of pesticides, Yariv urges farmers to look out for fake products and use the right proportions in diluting the pesticides.

“They should also be patient and allow the pesticide to work in its own time before making other moves,” he says, adding that farmers err in rushing to switch between farm chemicals.

Farmers are advised to spray when the plants are two-leaves old, when they are at knee-height and when they are two months old.

Researchers however say pesticides should be the last option in mitigating fall armyworm invasion.

Dr Muo recounts a case of a farmer who lost 25 dairy cows mid this year for feeding them on maize stalks that had been sprayed with pesticides.

“We only recommend pesticides because it is the only efficient available option in dealing with the pests. But there are other long-term options we are working on,” he says.

He advises farmers to plant only in season, not earlier or later, to avoid supplying the insects with food all year round.

Planting in dry seasons, especially by farmers who rely on irrigation, is also not recommended. The experts say the pests are most active during dry the season.

Farmers are also encouraged to plant desmodium grass, which attracts the fall armyworm, as a perimeter around their maize fields.

Poisonous plant

A little inside the perimeter, between the grass and maize crop, they are advised to plant a type of weed called bracharia, which is poisonous to the pest. When the pests invade the desmodium, they also eat the poisonous plant that kills them.

Dr Muo says even though maize farmers have harvested their crop, the problem is far from over.

“The pest is now eating leaves of other plants to keep it multiplying now that there is no maize in the farms. This means that next year, we might have an even bigger fight against the armyworm,” he says.

Dr Charles Orek, a crop pathologist at the South Eastern Kenya University, says farmers need more sensitisation since they are the ones closer to their crops and are able to detect early warning signs of any kind of invasion.

Dr Orek says being a new phenomenon in research labs, researchers, especially in agricultural institutions, are looking at the spread of the pest and its tolerance to pesticides.

This research, according to Dr Orek, is looking at the possibility of a maize breed that would be resistant to fall armyworm like those with tough husks and others with elements that are toxic to the armyworm.

Kiprono says he spent more than Sh700,000 on pesticides for his maize crop this year but has nothing to show for it.

He says the greatest harm came after the pest attacked the tip of the maize cob, exposing the inside of the cob to water and rot. The farmer is however hopeful for a better 2018 as the government tries out viable options in fighting the deadly pest.