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LUSAKA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A senior Zambian government official said on Tuesday that the country is still food secure despite an invasion of army worms that have destroyed large swathes of maize fields.
Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya said only 10 percent or 124,000 hectares of the planted maize fields have been attacked by army worms, a situation that does not pose any threat to the country's food security.
She told reporters during a weekly press briefing that the government will start distributing early maturing maize seeds to the affected farmers so that they could replant.
The Zambian minister however expressed happiness over the increase in awareness, a move that was making it easy to respond to the invasions as farmers were reporting outbreaks as soon as they occur.
Zambia last experienced an outbreak of army worms four years ago.
The government has so far spent 20 million Zambian Kwacha (about 2 million U.S. dollars) to purchase chemicals to fight army worms, she added.
Army worms have broken out in six of the country's 10 provinces, forcing the government to embark on a vigorous exercise of spraying affected fields with chemicals in order to contain the pests. Enditem
