The Agriculture Department minister C Lalrinsanga visited farms which are infested with Fall Armyworm (FAW) at Durtlang Leitan and Shiphir today. The Minister was accompanied by Rohmingthanga, Director, Agriculture department (Crop Husbandry), Zothansangi Sailo, Joint Director and other officers of the department along with several members of the media.

Minister C Lalrinsanga expressed his grief for the farmers, indicating that Fall Armyworm is a rapidly propagating infestation making it  a strenuous task to contain, saying,” The Fall Armyworm can feed on 80 different varieties of crops, therefore, making it difficult to make alternative crop selection”. The Minister also urge the citizen of the state to stand as one to tackle this problem as it has already become a threat to the livelihood of many farmers.

Rohmingthanga Colney, Director, Agriculture department also highlighted on the undertakings and actions which are underway. The Director also mentioned that pesticides are being distributed free of cost to the maize farmers, but must be used meticulously as it can be harmful to the user if not used carefully. He also pointed out that a team of expert from Indian Institute of Maize Research, National Centre for Integrated Pest Management and ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources will arrive on 15^th May, 2019 to investigate on the FAW.

As per report till 6^th May, 2019, an area of 2189 Hectare of Maize farm is under FAW infestation which is effecting 5636 household.