Bong County – Armyworm infestation is currently posing a devastating threat to residents of various cities and villages in Bong and Nimba counties, especially farmers. This invasion is severely jeopardizing their agricultural efforts. The Caterpillars Invasion, according to Gbarney James Hallawanga, attacked the town more than a week ago and prevented residents from getting to their various farms. Hallawanga said that if nothing is done to fix the problem, it would get worse because the caterpillars are destroying their crops and contaminating the town’s and nearby areas’ water supplies.
A farmer’s daily struggle to get to their gardens was described by Chief Hallawangar. “The Caterpillars can block the farm roads than we can be jumping in the coco bushes to go on our farms. If this keeps happening, the already struggling farmers won’t have anything to look forward to, and the upcoming crop season is likely to be a time of wonder for them.”
As things stand, residents in Bong’s electoral district #4 are currently required to transport drinking water from their cities and villages to nearby farms due to the armyworms’ pollution of the water supply for other residential uses.
The Armyworm’s invasion has infested and poisoned crops and waters in the areas; Zota, Panta, Sonayea, and Jorquelleh districts. Therefore, citizens are requesting prompt action from the Liberian government through the Ministry of Agriculture and international partners. This deadly bug has been a problem for farmers in the past. Crops and water were devastated by this terrible invasion in 2007, 2009, 2016, and 2020, according to records. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Disaster Management Team responded to each outbreak, and UNMIL provided support during the first outbreak in 2007 when a large caterpillar epidemic caused mass evacuation and crop destruction that resulted in a painful standstill.
The Ministry of Agriculture also declared a rigorous resource mobilization to buy eco-friendly agrochemicals to reduce widespread caterpillars in the counties.
The Ministry of Agriculture in a release revealed that following the information, it dispatched technicians to assess the invasion’s coverage, determine types of caterpillars and evaluate damage.
According to the release, preliminary findings from MOA Technicians recommend immediate intervention of those hit areas.
Reported by: Joseph N. Kerkula
Email: jnkerkula@gmail.com
Contact: +231777376826
