Local knowledge is dynamic and farmers are fast to adapt traditional practices when the need arises, as we saw during a recent filming visit.
The fall armyworm arrived in Africa only in 2016 and is creating panic among farmers and governments alike. International development organisations are quick to ring the bell and up the competition to bid for public funds to respond to evident emergencies.
But farmers canât always wait for solutions to be developed by researchers or for government support. In an earlier blog, âArmies against armies,â I wrote about John Fundi from Embu County, Kenya, who combined various observations on how ants behave to develop his own solution. Ants like fat and caterpillars, so if you smear fat on the maize stalks you can attract the ants to move up on the plants and eat the caterpillars.
Aaron Njagi shared another interesting innovation based on keen observations. As an herbalist, Aaron knows a lot about which plants can be used to cure people and which ones can be used to kill or repel insect pests. The herbal pesticide that he uses to kill caterpillars in his vegetable crops proved inadequate to control the fall armyworm, so Aaron immediately figured that this pest was not like any other. His herbal mix needed extra strength.
âJust one drop of aloe vera in water is enough to cure people from respiratory problems, so I decided to add the strength of this plant to the mix of plants I use to control the other caterpillars,â he says. On top, he adds chopped chilli for extra bitterness and strength, and then boils the lot. Once the water has cooled down a little, Aaron removes the plants from the water and adds a little snuff tobacco.
âAfter fermenting the mix for a week in the shade, I can now use it,â he continues, âbut you need to dilute it as it is very powerful. I also decided to add a little washing powder before spraying it, so it sticks better to the maize plants.â
Farmers know when something works, and when something doesnât work. Everywhere we went, we heard that pesticides did not kill the fall armyworm. But Aaronâs mixture works. That he is already asked by his neighbours to spray their fields with his herbal medicine further testifies how fast farmers can innovate.
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Acknowledgement
The videos on fall armyworm are developed in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with funding from the McKnight Foundationâs Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP).
