(Ecofin Agency) - Fall armyworms have ravaged in Burkina Faso more than 30,000 hectares of lands dedicated to maize, sorghum and rice farming, Bloomberg reports citing the country’s minister of agriculture.

“The damage may be more widespread as the government is still assessing the affected areas,” said Moussa Ouattara, crop protection director at the Agriculture ministry. “The government has spent 1.3 billion CFA francs ($2.3 million) distributing insecticide to fight the outbreak, but has appealed to farmers to buy their own pesticides,” Ouattara added.

It should be recalled that fall armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda) were first signaled in Africa in 2016. From then to June 2017, they have affected 19 countries across the continent, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Espoir Olodo