Vice President Inonge Wina has described the destruction of maize fields by army worms as a national crisis requiring concerted efforts of all stakeholders.
The Vice President says efforts should be intensified in eradicating the Army Worms that are a big threat to the country’s food security and likely to cause a mass destruction if not contained.Mrs Wina has since called for a strong alliance among various government units to help contain the invasion of army worms ravaging maize fields in various parts of the country.
She says the current situation needs involvement of all stakeholders such as the traditional leaders, civic leaders and Members of Parliament.The Vice President was speaking when she visited the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit -DMMU- offices in Lusaka.Mrs WINA has commended the strides being made by the Ministry of Agriculture and the DMMU to contain the Army Worms.
And during the briefing, DMMU National Coordinator Patrick Kangwa disclosed that so far over 15 thousand litres of Pesticides have been dispatched to all provinces in the country.Mr. Kangwa however, said there are about 28 thousand Litres of pesticides procured and will be dispatched.
He noted that 63 thousand 975 farmers in the country have been affected by the destructive worms.Mr. Kangwa also disclosed that over 89 thousand hectares of maize fields have been affected with Central province being the most hit by the crisis followed by Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces.
He also revealed that reports reaching his office indicate that some officers are not active in the operation to eradicate army worms.
And agriculture Permanent Secretary Julius Shawa said all protective wear and equipment that are supposed to be used have been distributed.Mr. Shawa said experts will study the Army Worms and give feedback so that there is a review of the operation.Meanwhile, Acting Secretary to the Treasury Pamela Kabamba said K10.5 million has been released to contain the invasion of army worms.
Mrs. Kabamba said the treasury has disbursed K7 million to the Ministry of Agriculture and K3.5 million to the DMMU.
Its a crisis b’coz of pathetic fleas~PF~bandits without any plans.
PF bandits of visionless Dagama through fatherless Frank Bwalya are now blaming civil servants & traditional leaders for PF failures.
This is a case of dununa regret for the visionless PF bandits of Lungu. Meanwhile Malavi is enjoying Zambian maize.
PF is a failed trial.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
You can’t involve PF Mps, now all unfished houses will be completed from Army worms money. That Disaster Management Unit should be deproyed into PF.
Its global period.
18.5% of the funds will go to allowances, 45.4% will be unaccounted for, the remainder will buy expired drugs.
This is not the first time we have this “invasion” yet we do not have data on how to prevent it. Always reactive as this is profitable. What a cursed people.
When the righteous rule people rejoice but when the wicked rule people mourn and there are a lot of calamities that befall the nation. What is happening now is a sign that you cannot not rejoice or enjoy the rule when force yourself on the people. This is a bad omen that Lungu and the PF should not have stolen the elections. This is a sign that the worst is coming.
Firstly a wise leader should not have emptied and sold it dubiously to malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The surplus maize should have been kept because no one knows what tomorrow holds. The vissionless leader did not even think about what would happen tomorrow. Secondly, this useless worm called Lungu could have spear headed the distribution of farming implements on time. Now the failed sodomiser priest blames his government…
This is what happens when you appoint a minister who does not have any qualifications in agricultural science. What is Lubinda doing? The answer is nothing! Useless man would not even know the specialist to consult on this matter. Go to University of Zambia for advice. Go to elders who may have seen this infestation in thier life time and may have a solution.
My hope is that PF won’t blame the worms if at all the yield drops. We all know that PF management of inputs has been a disaster. But ofcos they have already started blaming the southern chiefs for a possible low yield.
2017 year of HUNGER, .
What a shame, just 1 year of bumper harvest, surplus even exporting Maize now we have late delivery of inputs, failure to control Army Worms etc. I pray that the rains will be ok, otherwise the FAMINE / MALNUTRITION will be on the scale of Ethiopia 1984.
So you’re praying for disaster? You’ll be disappointed my friend just like last season when you prayed for crop failure but instead we’re even feeding surrounding countries.
A perfect scapegoat for a poor harvest has been found.
All the blame for poor harvest will now shift to army worms instead of lack of efficient distribution of farming inputs.
Why did you, poor worms, appear just to shield lazy politicians from their inefficiencies?
If chimbwili was still government spokesperson, she would have blamed it on the opposition
Generally you need about half a litre of chemical per hectare to kill armyworms.
So how will 15,000 litres be enough for 89,000 hectares
Least affected are southern and western. Otherwise all provinces have been hit by this plague.
This armyworm species goes through 3 generations during the maize growing period. So children and then grandchildren are still on the way
Over 15,000 + 28,000 = 43,000 litres, generally…!
The moths live about 10 days. The female can lay a maximum of about 1000 eggs in her lifetime. Eggs hatch in 2–5 days.
Already a lot liters of the chemicals have gone missing/stolen in Kitwe
This is as result of allowing every Jim and Jack entering the country without checking what they are bringing. A classical example is the grass that has chocked the Kafubu River in Ndola. It was brought in by foreigners. Our friends will even check the soles of your shoes just to ensure you’re not carrying matter that may be harmful to their environment. At KKIA nobody checks your bags and some times they have to be forced to stamp your passport.