Farmers in Ethiopia’s drought-ravaged south are fighting a new enemy in their beleaguered maize fields: an alien and voracious insect crossing swathes of Africa at alarming speed.
The fall armyworm, native to the Americas and named because of its seasonal, military-like advance, appeared in west Africa only last year and has made its way as far as Mozambique and South Africa in the south and Ethiopia and Kenya in the east.
Scientists believe the worm’s larvae may have arrived on warm ocean jetstreams. An alternate theory is that the insects or their eggs could have hidden in imported produce.
The worm has been found in more than 20 African countries. “It eats everything,” said Fikru Tarekegn, country director for Dorcas Aid International Ethiopia, which works with farmers in southern Ethiopia. “The farmers are very nervous. It’s very new to the area.”
The rapid spread of the species has coincided with millions in Ethiopia needing emergency food aid. Experts say that the fall armyworm could cost African nations more than £2 billion in maize damage this year.
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Its presence is irreversible, says the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Though stopped by European quarantine units in the past, it could yet spread into Europe and Asia.
In Ethiopia’s southern Sidama region, maize farmers have watched helplessly as mature crops have been attacked. In less than four months it had infested nearly 53,000 hectares. In two districts monitored by Dorcas, the extent of infested crop nearly doubled in two weeks.
“What kind of curse is it?” said Wako Arqa, a farmer. “All of a sudden, a pest which is destructive, ruthless has ravaged my crop and is trying to leave me empty-handed.”
The female can lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time. The larvae eat through most parts of the maize before growing wings that enable the adult to travel 60 miles in one night. It will attack more than 80 crop species, including rice and wheat.
Dorcas, part of the Start Network of aid agencies, received £100,000 from the Start Fund, an initiative backed by Britain and other donors to provide swift aid in a crisis. It helps farmers to eliminate the pests by picking the larvae off plants or with chemicals.