The recent outbreak of the Fall Army Worm in the country has affected about 7,165 hectares of farms in the Volta region.

The green-stripped caterpillar larvae of moths destroyed mostly maize farms, with about 5,128 farmers in the region still counting their losses.

Dr. Archilbad Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister who disclosed this at the first meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) this year, said officers in charge of Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Department (PPRSD) of Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the region, are providing technical and logistical support to the farmers to contain the situation.

According to him, a total of 3,892.8 litres and 107.98 kilograms of chemicals have so far been supplied to control the outbreak on the affected farms.

He added that, “the agro chemicals received and distributed to the affected farmers covered about 70% of the affected farms,” and called for continuous public sensitization and establishment of robust surveillance systems to track down the outbreak in the region.

The Minister also announced the recruitment of 35 Agriculture Extension agents under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to provide services to farmers in all 25 assemblies as part of the government’s ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme.