War on army worm gobbles K30.8m

Sat, 07 Jan 2017 11:42:32 +0000

By KALOBWE BWALYA

 GOVERNMENT has released K30.8 million to help farmers fight the army worm invasion and help restore the smooth progress of the current agriculture season.

Of this amount, K24. 8 million has been channeled through the Ministry of Agriculture and K6 million to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).

Finance Minister Felix Mutati said the army worms that have ravaged some parts of the country were a threat to economic diversification.

He said that the army worms have adversely affected agriculture development which was at the core of the initiative.

“We will crush the army worms and their cohorts with ferocious intensity to ensure that the country remains on course with agriculture and food security programmes,” Mr Mutati said.

Mr Mutati is scheduled to visit Kafue today to assess the extent of the problem in the district and take time to inspect the site for a new toll gate in Shimabala area.

President Edgar Lungu, who was in Kitwe on Thursday, reaffirmed Government’s support to areas affected by army worms and the stalk borer.