Rise Of The Fall

Fall Armyworm, a deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and now Asia. First detected in July 2018 in India, the pest has caused widespread damage to maize crops, raising the possibility that the country may have to import maize.

- Akshit Sangomla And Ishan Kukreti

BY THE time the infestation was detected, it had already become malignant.

Khemo Baghel, a farmer of Bade Chakwa village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, took up maize cultivation for the first time early this year. He dug a borewell and was convinced that the return from maize would be better than any other crop. But hardly had the seeds sprouted, he saw some keedas (worms) slowly colonising his farm. “I detected them one morning. There was no trace of them the previous day. I think they landed at night,” he narrates. Within two months, the keedas had a firm grip on his farm, taking away 30 per cent of his maize crop.

Uncertainty hovers over the village as other maize farmers report the presence of this hitherto-unseen insect. Now agriculture scientists and extension officers frequent Bade Chakwa and neighbouring villages and they too are puzzled. But by now, the outlier has a local name: “American keeda”.