Armyworm frustrates farmers in Katsina

A type of armyworm, called ‘Ganzari’ in Hausa, has in the last one month been a source of concern among maize and other cereal farmers in Katsina State. Ganzari, a deleterious pest, is capable of destroying crops ranging from maize and sorghum to rice in a matter of weeks. It spreads rapidly in farms when […]

A type of armyworm, called ‘Ganzari’ in Hausa, has in the last one month been a source of concern among maize and other cereal farmers in Katsina State.

Ganzari, a deleterious pest, is capable of destroying crops ranging from maize and sorghum to rice in a matter of weeks. It spreads rapidly in farms when there is no regular rainfall; which kills it.

Daily Trust visited some of the affected farms in Funtua and observed that the pest ravaged some farms because the farmers were reluctant to apply pesticides based on the superstition that the dreaded pest was associated with bumper harvest.

A maize farmer, Haruna Umar, has that belief and he told this reporter that he had to replant his entire farmland after the pest ravaged his crops.

"There is a widespread belief among the locals here that Ganzari is not an ordinary pest and killing it would have an adverse effect on the yield. As a result, some of us watched helplessly as the pest damaged our entire crops and we had to replant," he said.

He added that those that took the risk of applying pesticides had succeeded in exterminating the pest early enough from their farms, leaving the crops blossoming with no signs of any danger.

Haruna explained that maize, rice and sorghum were prone to the pest, while leguminous crops like soya beans, beans, groundnut and cotton were naturally insulated from Ganzari attack.

Mallam Sa’idu Idris is another farmer who specialises in the cultivation of rice and maize. He said the pest wiped the entire farm when the crops were only one to two weeks old by completely cutting down their stems.

"When crops are more than two weeks Ganzari only damages the leaves leaving the stem to shoot up again. But the damage is more severe when the crops are much younger, leading to replanting of the farm," he said.

He added that Ganzari’s high resistance to pesticides had added substance to the superstitious belief that the pest was not ordinary until when farmers realised that otapiapia was an effective killer of the pest.

But for Sadi Usman, the pest died completely in his farm due to heavy rainfall. 

"When there is regular heavy rainfall you would not hear complaints about the pest because it only multiplies and infests farmlands when there is a break in rainfall, up to a week or more," he said.

He urged local farmers to do whatever it took to alienate the dreaded pest from their farms as; “the sure danger on their prospective yield is by allowing the pest to ravage their farms unabated."