adminThe affected farmers, who spoke to Chronicle, said they were afraid of realising a poor harvest owing to the armyworm and the unpredictable rainfall patterns of their area.
In an interview, Chief Mapanzure said people were facing imminent hunger, as a result of the dreaded caterpillars.
He said the worms had destroyed all crops, especially the maize crop.
“These caterpillars have left us hopeless. Some of our colleagues are now replanting. Given the challenges that we are experiencing, everyone has become pessimistic. Farmers are also experiencing challenges in accessing inputs such as fertilisers and seed. We hope the situation will improve and we will receive adequate rains that will make our crops grow well,” he said.
Chief Mapanzure said the armyworms had, however, disappeared from his area.
Mr Tafara Masunda, a farmer in the area, described the situation as a “disaster”.
He said farmers were now clueless as to how best to deal with the situation.
“Our crops that were promising have been damaged. We could not do anything to contain the armyworm outbreak as the authorities told us that the nation did not have pesticides to spray these caterpillars. As farmers we have started to replant specialising in crops such as sorghum, which do not need much water,” he said.
Mr Masunda said the farmers would also plant seed varieties that matured fast so as to boost food security at household level.
Midlands Province Agronomist, Mr Sipso George Lusaba confirmed the damage caused by the armyworm in Zvishavane.
He said the main crops that were affected were rapoko and sorghum.
“My office received reports to the effect that 1 200 hectares of land were affected by these caterpillars. Three hundred and twenty-five hectares of crop were affected while 912ha of pastures were damaged. We did not receive the names of the affected areas,” he said.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter