Nagaland agriculture minister G. Kaito Aye on Monday appealed to the state’s farming community to cooperate with officers of agriculture department in making a concerted effort to contain a massive outbreak of fall army worm in the state.
Kaito also appealed to the farmers to cooperate with all other agricultural agencies and units.
In a release, Kaito said the agriculture department and various agricultural agencies and units of the state are already on high alert and working relentlessly to create awareness and training farmers to mitigate the loss to crops by the pest.
He said he had personally conducted meetings with the officials of the department and asked it to keep him updated on the course of action being undertaken.
“We are also keeping track of technological innovations and digital tools that are being developed to ensure timely and context-specific information to enable farmers to track, spot and treat the FAW pest,” the minister said.
He said the agriculture department and other government agencies have been conducting regular training camps for creating awareness among farmers and also conducting field inspections to identify the areas of infestation.
Kaito called upon the farmers to take advantage of technical camps being organised for their benefit and employ scientific methods to battle the invasion of the fall army worm pest.
He stressed that it is vital for the farmers to regularly scout the fields and plantations and immediately report any signs of pest infestation and crop damage to the nearest department officials.
The minister assured the agricultural community that the government will leave no stone unturned in combating and containing the outbreak of the pest in the state.
A fall army worm outbreak can cause drastic damage to crop and can reduce yields. Mizoram and Manipur have largely been affected by the invasion of the deadly pest, he added.