Africa-Press – Angola. A pest identified as a “military caterpillar” is devastating massango, massambala and corn crops in the commune of Môngua, Cuanhama municipality, Cunene, compromising the harvest of cereals for the agricultural year, according to information from the Provincial Office of Agriculture, Livestock. and Fisheries.
The head of the Department of Agriculture of those services, Filipe Capitamgo, told that 1,200 fields are reported to be affected by the plague, in Mongua alone, a situation that worries peasants, who lack alternative means of irrigation, as well as pesticides to the fight against the plague, fearing for their crops.
Filipe Capitango said that technicians from the Cuanhama Office and Municipal Administration are currently providing assistance to farmers to find solutions to combat the larva, adding that resources received at the time of the locust plague, in May 2021, are being used. , to combat the progression of the plague. “The Cabinet lacks the means to combat this type of plague, but it is looking for solutions to stop the evil, through new techniques”, said Filipe Capitango.
“We were informed by the peasants that the plague, with characteristics of the ‘military caterpillar’, is devastating several fields in the commune of Môngua, with a greater incidence in the cultures of massango, corn and massambala”, he said.
The plague of the military caterpillar is also already affecting farms of peasants in the municipalities of Ombadja, Cahama and Namacunde, devastating hectares of cereal crops, the main products of the families’ diet in Cunene.
Tulipuleni Constancio, a peasant from the commune of Môngua, said that the plague is affecting the stem and the grain of cereals and has already devastated close to three hectares of his farming, with consequences that could be reflected at the time of harvest., insisting that the “military caterpillar” destroys entire crops.
Clementina Ndanyengwa, another peasant, said that it is caterpillars and insects that devastate crops. “The plague started at the beginning of April and has already destroyed a good part of the commune’s crops. We are afraid that it will spread to other cultures, because we see that the plague devastates everything it finds, so we appeal to the provincial government to act quickly to that the damages are not greater”, he said.
The military caterpillar is a species of larva that feeds on maize plants, preferentially, but also eats other crops such as rice, massango, massambala, wheat and beans. The name “military caterpillar” came about because the species, after consuming the plants, acquires a green hue, typical of military uniforms.
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