ICT boosts war on fall armyworm

ICT boosts war on fall armyworm

Information and communications technology (ICT) based extension campaigns have increased farmers’ knowledge on the fall armyworm (FAW), a survey conducted in Kenya and Uganda has revealed.

David Onyango, plantwise communications expert at Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, who led the study, said the campaign stimulated adoption of management practices for the pest.

“The use of radio, video and mobile phones is capable of providing wide coverage of management information in achieving the goal set,” he said at a forum in Nairobi on Tuesday.

He said tackling threats and risks of an invasive pest like FAW whose spread is fast can be achieved by using ICT-enabled approaches.

In Kenya, farmers were invited to subscribe to short text messaging service for free which gives instant FAW advice from the platform. In Uganda, 400,478 farmers were reached with the service.

Mr Onyango said over 80 per cent of farmers learned the new technology in Kenya and 75 percent from Uganda after 18 weeks of trial.

“The training helped farmers identify FAW, hence helped in reducing misconception of the pest’s spread,” he said.

Eastern Africa reported FAW in 2016 when it entered the region from West and Central Africa, causing damage to maize plantations.