Some farmers in the Nabdam District of the upper East Region, have expressed worry over the infestation of armyworms on their farm lands.
The pests have spread over many farm lands in most communities of the district, eating deeply into the stalks and biting into the leaves of the crops, especially maize crops.
Some of the farmers, who spoke to A1radioomline.com, noted that the invasion of the pest in addition to the high cost of fertiliser was a major challenge to their farming activities and could result in low yield if not contained urgently.
A former District Best Farmer, Goubagre Sampana, stated that the invasion of the pest was becoming a yearly occurrence, costing them their investments, and deterring potential farmers who would have otherwise gone into farming to increase the food basket of the country.
“We experience the invasion of these armyworms on our farms year in and year out, and it is so demoralising to those who have even been farming for years, so you can imagine young people who may wish to venture into farming,” he said.
“This pest destruction, in addition to the high cost of fertiliser, is making us lose our investment because we spend so much fighting these pests and at the same time on fertiliser,” he continued.
According to another farmer, Saah Zoya, it was important for the government to urgently initiate steps to assist farmers in battling the pests by providing them with pesticides .
This, he believed, would lessen their financial load while also preventing the armyworms from spreading to other farms that were unaffected.
The District Director of the Department of Agriculture, Joseph Adjabui, confirmed to A1radioonline.com that its outfit had noted the  invasion of the armyworms in some communities of the District and officers were on the field accessing farmlands.
He revealed that the government had provided some pesticides to help farmers and in due cost the farmers would be given the needed support.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
