Regional Ministers Join Battle Against Armyworms

Regional Ministers in the ten regions of Ghana have been assigned active roles in the ongoing fight against the invasion of Fall Armyworms in the country.

The Regional Ministers will coordinate activities of the various stakeholders as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture continues the battle to eradicate the havoc that has been caused as a result of the invasion of the deadly pests on some farms across the length and breadth of the country.

The Ministers have been tasked with the additional responsibility of taking charge of the distribution of inputs under government's agricultural flagship program "Planting for Food and Jobs"(PFJ) Campaign.

This is to ensure that all registered farmers are supplied with adequate inputs of improved seeds and fertilizers which are currently enjoying 50% subsidy in retail prices.

The decision was reached at a Stakeholders Meeting organized by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra yesterday.

Purpose of the Meeting

The meeting was called at the behest of the Minister Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, to brief stakeholders on the progress so far made in the implementation of the laudable policy and to also discuss how best the Regional Ministers, by virtue of their positions, could help in the ongoing fight against the deadly Fall Armyworms.

Participants included representatives of companies contracted by the Ministry to supply improved seeds and fertilizers for the Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign, as well as the national fertilizer subsidy program.

Under the Planting for Food and Jobs working arrangement, the Regional Ministers serve as the Chairmen of the Regional Implementation Committee (RIC)

The meeting, therefore, afforded the Regional Ministers, who were not in office at the time contracts were awarded for the supply of the inputs, the opportunity to interact with the various companies who were assigned to their respective regions.

Apart from the PFJ, the meeting also discussed how the regional ministers could play lead roles in the fight against the Fall Armyworms infestation.

Already, the pests are said to have caused serious damage to farm produce, mostly Maize and Cocoa. Over 20,000 hectares of maize farms are reported to have been destroyed according to the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Progress and Successes Achieved So far

The Ministry is currently embarking on mass spraying exercise in areas affected by the invasion of the pests. The exercise is being coordinated by a National Taskforce inaugurated by the Minister of Food and Agriculture a couple of weeks ago.

The Taskforce is made up of membership from various institutions such as the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Department for International Development (UK)

Thousands of litres of chemicals have also been distributed to affected districts offices across the country.

Government, under certificate of emergency has also allocated GHC16million to the Ministry towards the fight against the epidemic.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said though responses had been positive since the commencement of the exercise, there were some challenges which he expects would be addressed through the involvement of the regional ministers.

According to him, the regional ministers would be expected to collaborate effectively with all the stakeholders in the ongoing mass spraying exercise.

Assurances

The Minister, however, gave the assurance that the Ministry will do everything possible to ameliorate the effects of the pests on farmers whose crops have been destroyed.

According to him, the plans put in place by MOFA will not only save the situation in the immediate term but will also ensure that there would be no future outbreaks.

He, therefore, called on Ghanaian farmers not to pick but collaborate with the National Taskforce in order to deal with the epidemic.

"The Ministry is fully aware of the challenges being posed by these Fall Armyworms. We want to assure farmers that we will assist them to recover their losses and also ensure that such outbreak does not occur in the future," the minister assured.

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