South African farmers are not worried about an invasion of “armyworms” despite the pesky caterpillars devastating maize crops in three neighbouring countries.
Instead‚ the plight of farmers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) could be beneficial to SA farmers‚ who could export to the other countries as South Africa faces a bumper maize crop this season.
Malawi reported earlier this month that armyworms have destroyed 2000 hectares of crops in the past few weeks. The outbreak in Malawi follows one in Zambia‚ where the army was deployed to battle the armyworms‚ and Zimbabwe.
Armyworms are caterpillars which are capable of destroying entire crops in a matter of weeks. They get their names from their habit of marching in large numbers into crops‚ like a military formation.
AgriSA senior economist Hamlet Hlomendlini said on Thursday that maize production in the current season‚ which ends in April‚ was estimated to reach more than 12-million tonnes compared to the 7.5-million tonnes production output of the previous season.
Hlomendlini said this had been possible due to good rains which had fallen since October last year and more rain was expected to fall during the course of the year.
South Africa‚ in a normal season‚ normally produces 12.5-million tonnes of maize and is usually a net exporter of the crop.
However‚ the maize yield last season was low as a result of the drought and SA to import maize to meet the country’s demand.
“We are not certain about the extent of the damage of crops in other countries‚ but with the situation in South Africa‚ we may need to export to other countries‚” Grain SA economist Duan van der Walt said.
Van der Walt said Grain SA was not sure whether there were any armyworms in the maize crops that had been planted in South Africa.
He said the first crop estimates will be out on February 28.
“At this point we only have intention to plant 2.46-million hectares. But there are few battles to overcome in terms of follow-up rains during the pollination phase‚” Van der Walt said.
Hlomendlini said if the rainfall continues and grain production improves as predicted‚ the country will likely see a drop in food prices probably in the third quarter of the 2017.
AgriSA’s director of natural resources‚ Nic Opperman‚ said South African farmers were well informed about how to control the armyworms‚ which farmers had to deal with in the past. — TMG Digital
SA maize farmers prepared for ‘armyworms’ plaguing neighbouring countries: AgriSA
South African farmers are not worried about an invasion of “armyworms” despite the pesky caterpillars devastating maize crops in three neighbouring countries.
Instead‚ the plight of farmers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) could be beneficial to SA farmers‚ who could export to the other countries as South Africa faces a bumper maize crop this season.
Malawi reported earlier this month that armyworms have destroyed 2000 hectares of crops in the past few weeks. The outbreak in Malawi follows one in Zambia‚ where the army was deployed to battle the armyworms‚ and Zimbabwe.
Armyworms are caterpillars which are capable of destroying entire crops in a matter of weeks. They get their names from their habit of marching in large numbers into crops‚ like a military formation.
AgriSA senior economist Hamlet Hlomendlini said on Thursday that maize production in the current season‚ which ends in April‚ was estimated to reach more than 12-million tonnes compared to the 7.5-million tonnes production output of the previous season.
Hlomendlini said this had been possible due to good rains which had fallen since October last year and more rain was expected to fall during the course of the year.
South Africa‚ in a normal season‚ normally produces 12.5-million tonnes of maize and is usually a net exporter of the crop.
However‚ the maize yield last season was low as a result of the drought and SA to import maize to meet the country’s demand.
“We are not certain about the extent of the damage of crops in other countries‚ but with the situation in South Africa‚ we may need to export to other countries‚” Grain SA economist Duan van der Walt said.
Van der Walt said Grain SA was not sure whether there were any armyworms in the maize crops that had been planted in South Africa.
He said the first crop estimates will be out on February 28.
“At this point we only have intention to plant 2.46-million hectares. But there are few battles to overcome in terms of follow-up rains during the pollination phase‚” Van der Walt said.
Hlomendlini said if the rainfall continues and grain production improves as predicted‚ the country will likely see a drop in food prices probably in the third quarter of the 2017.
AgriSA’s director of natural resources‚ Nic Opperman‚ said South African farmers were well informed about how to control the armyworms‚ which farmers had to deal with in the past. — TMG Digital
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