Zombo RDC decries army worm attacks

The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Zombo district, Isaac Lulaba, has expressed concern over the continued destruction of maize by army worms in his district.

"I'm just wondering if the worm attack on Uganda's maize crop is simply another passing occurrence happening by nature's fate," Lulaba told New Vision on Sunday.

"I think it is not a coincidence that the worms just presented themselves suddenly from the unknown, to different parts of Uganda, many of which are far apart from each other" he added.

He said many farmers have reported to his office of the worm's destruction of crops.

Lulaba said he‘s raised this concern with the production/agriculture department who are now staging the necessary interventions with the affected farmers.

"My concern is that we might be a target as a country, by subversive actors with internal collaborators. There have been other precedents before, with the coffee wilt, banana wilt, and cassava mosaic, all targeting crops which define Uganda's popular and highly reliant income generating crops," he said.

He said it was at a high cost that the country managed to effectively control those onslaughts.

"But this instance and given the way it has occurred, has raised more questions than have been answered," says Lulaba.

He said the maize seeds distributed by NAADS could have been adulterated and that's why the worms are affecting the whole country.

"As a country, we must investigate this thoroughly. The National Agricultural Research Organization must take charge of this, or they together with the NAADS secretariat should be called to account. No complacency should be allowed here," he said.

"Once we get infiltrated and crippled in this sector, which is our lifeline, we are doomed. I wouldn't like to be alarmist, but posterity would judge us harshly for surrendering to forces of subversion" Lulaba added.