The ravaging of farm fields by armyworms across the country is getting out of control, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has warned, despite government’s assurance that the situation is under control.
More than 112,000 hectares of farms have been destroyed by the green-stripped caterpillar larvae of moths, according to figures by government.
The pests were detected last year, and have since wreaked havoc on farms in all the 10 regions of the country.
Nonetheless, government assured that there are enough free chemicals available for farmers to contain the menace.
But speaking Monday July 17, 2017 in an interview with Accra based Joy FM, the Programme Officer of the PFAG, Charles Nyaaba, said the claims by government cannot be accurate.
According to him, as at yesterday [Sunday July 16, 2017] when he spoke to most of their members across the country, “the situation keeps increasing.”
“I must say that I don’t have any concrete evidence to object the figures put out by the Minister. But from what I had from the members, I have reasons to believe that those figures were underestimated,” he said adding, “the issue has gone out of control. So let’s declare a state of emergency and then we see how we will mobilize emergency funds, mobilize human resources. We don’t need to sit here and pretend that all is well when our farmers are suffering at the grassroots.”
He said the chemicals the government provided are ineffective and that their members have resorted to the use of detergents to combat the situation.
“That is what farmers are doing,” he disclosed.
