Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
ICRAF supports biological practices to fight fall armyworm infestations
International organisation says African countries need to choose biological methods over harmful pesticides to combat the pervasive pest, writes Jeff Kapembwa.
Smallholder farmers in Zambia and other African countries should resort to biological methods rather than chemicals to mitigate the devastation being caused to their crops by fall armyworm (FAW).
This was according to the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).
The institute, which specialises in the sustainable management, protection and regulation of tropical rainforest and natural reserves, uses its research to advance policies and practices to benefit smallholder farmers.
Zambia is once again under threat from the perennial FAW, which devastated farms around the country during the 2023/24 farming season. There are fears that this may reverse the projected food production in various crops, maize included. Last season, a total 319 611ha of planted land was lost to FAW.
Flash floods and other climate change incidents, including dry spells, further compounded the crop losses, affecting cassava and other cash crops. Zambia’s projected five million metric tons of maize harvest has been reduced to
3,2 million metric tons. This is despite the country spending US$5 million (about R93 million) to acquire chemicals to mitigate crop losses due to pests.
Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbozi confirmed the “invasion” of FAW countrywide. He said efforts were being made to procure chemicals to provide to various smallholder farmers at a fee once the tender had been approved.
“We have a situation where the whole country has been affected by FAW and we are in the process of ensuring that we acquire chemicals to provide for smallholder farmers,” Mbozi said.
Small-scale farmers who could afford to procure chemicals could proceed and save their crop from damage.
“I think it would be dangerous for me to tell small-scale farmers not to worry as there are so many ways of controlling the FAWs, including the use of biochemicals,” he added.
However, ICRAF does not support the sustained use of pesticides on farming fields, arguing it is more harmful than traditional or biological solutions, which are all harmless but effective, said Prof Rhett Harrison, the FAWICRAF project coordinator in Zambia.
Last year, the organisation conducted a survey on 144 farmers in Malawi and Zambia and findings showed more devastation to crops and humans with the use of the pesticides.
Harrison said that the natural and biological methods were ideal compared to spraying to help save crops and the lives of consumers. The biological process destroyed lava, hindered its growth and was harmless.
“Cultural means of using ash, wasps, detergents, and biological means are believed to be effective and healthy for farmers to fight the FAWs, unlike chemical sprays that are harmful,” he said.
“We need effective treatments for better yields compared to pesticides, which have long-term effects on farms and are not sustainable and many of the farmers fail to manage because of the costs.”
With regards to Zambia’s plans to acquire chemicals instead of opting for biological methods, ICRAF said: “This is nothing remarkable. FAW causes negligible damage in most cases. Smallholder farmers should avoid using chemical pesticides to deter natural enemies.
“If farmers feel it is necessary to spray they should use biological options, such as neem, which are just as effective, but do not risk damaging the ecosystem.”
FAW was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and quickly spread across SubSaharan Africa, showing up in almost all countries of the region.
Africa is estimated to lose US$10 billion (R186 billion) annually in maize and overall crop yield losses to FAW. The pest is scientifically proven to feed on up to 80 other crops within a short time if not controlled ecologically using best cultural and biological practices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations supports integrated pest management (IPM) as a remedy to FAW and other crop toxicities affecting Africa. It says smallholder farmers should use IPM to help increase sustainable food security.
FAO director-general Qu Dongyu noted that over 70 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Near East, were reporting FAW infestations, which were devastating various crops.