The notorious army worms have invaded six districts on the Copperbelt, posing a serious challenge to farmers.

Copperbelt Provincial Agriculture Coordinator Obvious Kabinda has, however, stated that measures are being put in place to address the spread of the pests.

He stated that out of the 10 districts on the Copperbelt, six had confirmed cases of army worms.

“As Copperbelt, we have recorded six districts with army worms. The six are Ndola with 9 camps affected, Kalulushi with 7, Chililabombwe with 3, Masaiti 1, Kitwe 8 and Chingola with 11 camps affected,” Dr Kabinda disclosed.

He disclosed that Copperbelt had 156 camps of which 39 had been affected.

“What has happened is that early November, we trained some staff to help identify the army worms. So we are getting weekly reports. As government, we have started the procurement process to have the chemicals to fight the army worms, and by next week, we will receive the chemicals. We will start with the most areas at risk,” said Kabinda.

Last farming seasons, army worms destroyed thousands of hectares of maize.