Fall armyworms: What makes them so devastating?

Fall armyworms

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
FARMERS have likened the invasion of the fall armyworms to the much talked about pestilence in the Bible.
This is so because the invasion by this maize pest is occurring for the first time and all possible mitigation factors seem not to work.
The invasion has not only affected maize fields in Zambia, but in five other countries in the southern African region – Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe
This invasion of fall armyworms is stripping southern Africa of key food crops, mainly maize.
Since December when the first outbreak was reported, no concrete solution to the pest has been found.
There has been a lack of scientific leadership in the control of fall armyworms, according to the Zambia Academy of Science (ZAS).
Although Zambia is experiencing the fall armyworm outbreak for the first time, ZAS president Kavwanga Yambayamba acknowledged that it is not the first time that Zambia has experienced an outbreak of agricultural pests.
As such, Professor Yambayamba says the country should have been better prepared to control the outbreak, adding that from this, it appeared as though the country did not have the scientific knowledge and experience to fight agricultural pests.
“We have had outbreaks of stalk borer, African armyworms and the red locust, but for the fall armyworms, we were experiencing them for the first time. As a result, in spite of all the commendable efforts by government, there still is a vacuum in preparedness,” Prof Yambayamba says.
Prof Yambayamba says because the pest is new to the country and the Southern African region, it has taken field teams a much longer than normal period, to identify them and this has led to wrong information on the identity of the worms being given to the farming community.
“Early identification of the pest leads to correct and more effective control strategies based on the biology and behavior of the pest. There has been a lack of reliable scientific extension messages and systems, and this resulted into some confusion,” Prof Yambayamba says.
ZAS comprises the Entomological Society of Zambia, Copperbelt University, Mulungushi University, University of Zambia and the Institute for Eco-Development Strategies and Toxicology (IESTO).
Prof Yambayamba says currently, little is known on how this particular pest entered Southern Africa.
“Since this pest is very new in Zambia, the southern Africa region as well as the continent, very little is known on its long term effects and in what form it came. The only known thing is that it was positively identified as the fall armyworm a few days later,” Prof Yambayamba says.
Maize, a staple food in the region has been the most affected, as well as other cereals including sorghum, millet and wheat.
The fall armyworm is a destructive caterpillar that is indigenous to the Americas. The ‘fall’ refers to the season during which it tends to migrate to the United States.
It was only spotted in Africa last year in western Nigeria but has already left a trail of destruction which is threatening food security in many parts of Southern Africa. The pest targets maize, sorghum, soya beans, groundnuts and potatoes.
In Zambia, 124,000 hectares (306,000 acres) of maize have been destroyed.
Essential for food security not only in Zambia but in large parts of Africa, maize is particularly vulnerable to the larvae of the fall armyworm, which attacks the crop’s growing points and burrows into the cobs.
In December 2016, as a way of controlling the pest, Zambia’s President Lungu called in the country’s military to help contain the outbreak.
Military planes transported pesticides to the worst-affected areas so that crops could be sprayed as a matter of urgency.
The fall armyworms have devoured crops in seven of Zambia’s 10 provinces.
An Entomologist at the University of Zambia Professor Phillip Obed Yobe Nkunika says the fall armyworms, which grow into moths and are not, technically speaking, worms but so named for their ability to destroy massive amounts of crops, in the manner of troops trampling over the countryside.
Prof Nkunika says pesticides have shown to be effective against armyworms in the past but not anymore.
“From the many voices of the affected farmers, we can say that the fall armyworms have developed resistance to the usual chemicals that kill them. It is until when the results are out that the truth will be known,” Prof Nkunika says.
Prof Nkunika says the damaged leaf of a corn plant caused by an infestation of fall armyworms, also known as Spodoptera frugiperda, is devastating and threatens not only Zambia’s food security but the Southern Africa region too. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON FEBRUARY 19, 2017. Link: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=95127

AU bans ministers from member countries from representing Presidents

President Alpha Conde of Guinea elected Chairperson of AU

The Chairperson of the African Union, President Alfa Conde of Guinea, has banned ministers from addressing the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments as from next AU Summit.

Conde, told the 28th AU Summit on Tuesday in Addis Ababa that the measure was part of the recommendations made in 2016 at AU summit in Kigali,

He said that a committee headed by President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was set up by AU to reform the Summit and how its meeting would be conducted.

"If you call it Assembly of Head of States, it should remain so, there is no need for minister to take the floor.

Ministers should be at the level of their executive meeting and should be limited to that, he said.

He alleged that most of the president do not spend time at the meeting, adding that after opening ceremony, some of them take their leave.

Conde, who also frowned at attitude of not being punctual by the leaders, which called "African time," said it was high time such attitude was checked.

According to him, when they go for such meeting outside Africa the leaders always keep to time but it is only in Africa they come to meeting at will and late.

The AU Chairperson, who said the measure would take effect from July, said it was one of the steps to implement the reform on how the business of the Summit should be conducted.

Natasha focuses on menstrual hygiene

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
WHAT would have been a worry for the delay in menstruation, turned out to be an opportunity for Natasha Salifyanji Kaoma to observe and nurture her interests in menstrual hygiene.
Natasha, a chief executive officer and co-founder of Copper Rose Zambia had her menstruation after her 15th birthday and this was a time for her to observe the happenings in other girls that had their menstruation start while at school.
Her passion for menstrual issues began when she was a teen and through her observation at school, she noticed that so many girls seemed unaware of what to do the day they begin to menstruate.
“I used to read a lot about puberty issues and because of this I developed interest and I started carrying two sanitary pads in my school bag on a daily basis way before I started menstruating. I was like a savior to many and whenever there was any crisis with any student, the pads I carried became handy,” she says.
Now at twenty-five, Natasha runs Copper Rose Zambia, an organisation born from her experience in menstrual hygiene.
She explains that her organisation deals in sexual and reproductive health in adolescents with special emphasis on menstrual hygiene.
Her passion did not die even after leaving secondary school in 2007. A year later in 2009, she was enrolled at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in the school of Natural Sciences and she continued with her passion.
She says her organisation first started as a mentorship programme to pair first year students with senior students at The Copperbelt University (CBU).
“A friend of mine who is also my sister, Faith Suwilanji Kaoma was at (CBU) and together, we realised there was a huge gap in sexual and reproductive health especially in adolescents, and that is how we started. Menstrual hygiene was one of the avenues identified to be lacking and least explored by organisations, and we directed our efforts towards it,” Natasha says.
Eventually, in August 2015, the team did door-to-door fundraising at their respective university campuses and raised K3000 (US$300), which was used for the first outreach program at Makeni Konga Basic School.
Since then, she has pioneered in championing menstrual health issues for underprivileged girls in Zambia.
To date, her goal is to raise funds and support from various stakeholders in order to provide sanitary products to the girls every month.
“Because of the passion, Faith and I underwent various trainings on how to make [sew] pads. Currently, we have gone in communities to teach girls and women on how to sew the pads and also have women who have dedicated themselves to buying pads each month and give them to the organization,” she says.
In Zambia, like many other African countries, a high number of adolescent girls miss school when they have their period, as they cannot afford good sanitary hygiene.
Natasha also runs a campaign known as ‘Candid Pride’ which educates both male and female adolescents about menstrual hygiene, sexual health and HIV, subsequently helping them build their confidence during puberty.
“I am inspired by the way she is breaking barriers on an issue that is considered a taboo in African culture. Many young men and women are being empowered by her campaign,” she says.
Natasha is also the country coordinator for the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP), where she mobilises young people to discuss and advocate access to contraceptives in their local community.
Her personal vision is to empower one million women and girls by 2022 through mentorship (self-development strategies) and awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights.
Natasha holds of a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from the University of Zambia and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery.
In addition, she is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, an honorary fellowship given to young people for their role in improving the lives of commonwealth citizens.
Born in 1992 in Livingstone, Natasha is the sixth born of seven children. She comes from a female-dominated family with only one male among her siblings.
She did her primary school at Cosmopolitan and later qualified to Grade 8 and went to St Mary’s Secondary School in Lusaka where she completed in 2007. And in 2009, she was admitted to UNZA and is expected to graduate this year in July.
She feels early talk about menstruation among parents and their girl children is a good idea.
Natasha says considering that girls get their first period as early as eight years old and as late as 15, it is vital that the issue be introduced to them early so that the girls are psychologically prepared.
“If you prepare your daughter for what is coming, it will make the experience much smoother for her. Armed with the facts and knowing that she is going to experience what all girls have been through since time immemorial, she will be able to take it in stride and possibly even celebrate it as the rite of passage it is,” Natasha says.
Currently, there are still many cultures beliefs, myths and taboos relating to menstruation which instill fears and uncertainty among girls.
There are a lot of social norms or unwritten rules and practices about managing menstruation and interacting with menstruating women, hence the need for parents to take an interest and clear such from the girls’ minds.
Natasha says some of these are helpful but others have potentially harmful implications.
“Cultural norms and religious taboos on menstruation are often compounded by traditional association with evil spirits, shame and embarrassment surrounding sexual reproduction. Most striking is the restricted control which many girls have over their mobility and behaviour due to their ‘impurity’ during menstruation,” she said.
Despite menstruation being a natural process, Natasha says it remains a taboo and is rarely talked about in most parts of the world hence the need for it to be talked about openly. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON JANUARY 29, 2017. https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=93158