By Thomas Domah, Nimba County
Rampaging armyworms have attacked three districts in Nimba County, destroying crops and polluting drinking water.
Over one thousand farmers in Kpain (District#8), Domah Town (District One) and District Two respectively, in Nimba are now facing serious challenges in carrying out their farm work and villagers have been left without safe drinking water after army worms contaminate creeks and rivers.
After the armyworms attack
The caterpillars, according to farmers, have destroyed their crops and rendered their waters unsafe for drinking purposes.
Farmers Mezee Domah, Keturah Kou Gogol and Ernest Johnson alarm that the presence of huge armyworms in their districts and adjacent villages has seriously affected their livelihood.
They named some of the crops destroyed by the worms as cabbage, pepper, garden egg and cocoa, among others.
According to them, the situation could reach rest of the nine electoral districts in the county if nothing were done by government to find a remedy.
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They appeal to the national government through the Ministry of Agriculture to intervene immediately.
Due to the presence of the huge caterpillars, farmers are being constrained to take along drinking water when going to their farms.
Some farmers revealed they are now using table salt to respond to attacks by armyworms, lamenting that the presence of the caterpillars may cause them to lose all of their crops if quick actions were not taken to fight the infestation.
“The situation is affecting us”, they said noting that the attack on their crops and farmland may reduce agricultural production in the county this year.
Meanwhile, authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with USAID are touring three counties reportedly affected by armyworms, including Nimba.
