FOLIAGE-eating worms have destroyed more than 11_000 hectares of crops in northern Tanzania, causing fears of food shortages later in the year, officials said Wednesday. Nearly 7_000 hectares of crops have been attacked by army worms in the Arusha region and another 3_500 hectares damaged in the Kilimanjaro area, according to Yusuf Nyakunga, the assistant director of plant protection in the agriculture ministry. Maize, the staple food in the region, is the most affected crop. ”We have to act fast to avoid further spread and replant the affected fields while there is some rain to avert famine,” warned Anthony Melle, a district commissioner in Arusha. ”We have already secured a good quantity of pesticides and distributed them to the affected areas,” he added. – Sapa-AFP
Thursday March 14, 2002
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