April 15: Outbreaks of fall armyworm have damaged maize planted by farmers across the country. However, the government has not taken concrete steps for its prevention and control. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on the other hand is unaware of this situation.

According to the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Centre, the outbreak of fall armyworms is on the rise in Kathmandu Valley, Terai, hills and some Himalayan districts as well. Authorities at the concerned ministry have not taken any initiative to control and prevent the pest. The Centre for Pesticide Management and the Ministry of Agriculture do not have exact information on the extent of damage caused by the pest infestation so far.

Although the outbreak of worms is prevalent all over the country, the districts with high temperatures like Banke, Bardia, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Dang, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu in western Terai and Sunsari, Rautahat and Siraha in the eastern Terai are facing greater impact of the worm infestation. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center Banke, the outbreak has spread to maize planted over 3,550 hectares in Banke and about 7,000 hectares in Bardiya. The centre estimated that the worm outbreak may have spread to 700 hectares in Kailali and Dang.

According to Bhuwaneshwor Yadav, a representative farmer from Sunsari, the outbreak has spread to about 800-900 hectares of crops in Sunsari as well. Yadav said, “No concrete steps have been taken for prevention and control by the agricultural knowledge center or even the local level. On the one hand, farmers do not know how to control it, what medicine to use, while on the other hand, all government bodies are unaware of the outbreak.”

Although the damage report of some districts is kept by the Agriculture Knowledge Center, the data of most of the districts is not available with the concerned local and central government. Sahadev Humagain, head of the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center said there were reports of worm outbreaks in various districts of the country but the body responsible for controlling and collecting data did not send details of the damage.

He said, “Once the exact details of the damage are known, control efforts will be initiated and technicians will be dispatched. However, nothing can be done from the center alone as the bodies responsible at the local level remain unaware of the situation.”

It has been three years since the American armyworms first entered Nepal. It hides from sunrise till sunset and destroys corn leaves, stalks, kernels and later the entire plant at night. As the worm has completely adapted to the environment in a short period of time, it is not possible to eradicate it completely. Humagain said that no initiative has been taken for the control so far.

The Ministry of Agriculture is unaware that the farmers who were affected by the unseasonal rainfall last October are now being attacked by the fall armyworms. Ministry spokesperson Prakash Kumar Sanjel said that the ministry has not received any report from the concerned bodies so far. It is a well-known fact that outbreaks are common and frequent during this time of year. However, he said that the ministry had not made any plan as no major damage was reported.

Scientists say that this worm, which was seen in West Africa in 2016, can travel up to 100 kilometers in one night. About three years ago, this insect was first seen in various states of India for the first time in Asia. Later, it reportedly entered Nepal through Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and China.