Armyworm infestation has destroyed about 790 hectares of farmland in Birniwa Local Government Area of Jigawa State, leaving farmers with substantial losses and raising concerns over food security and household livelihoods.
The pest, locally known as “Maremare,” has mainly affected bean and sesame farms, with farmers reporting losses of several bags of expected produce.
One of the affected farmers, Abdullahi, said more than 90 per cent of his bean farm was destroyed by the infestation after he had invested in land preparation, seeds, labor and other inputs.
He said he planted about six mudus of beans and expected to harvest more than 20 bags, but the outbreak had left him with little to harvest.
Another farmer, Abba Ibrahim, said he lost more than 25 bags of beans and 12 bags of sesame to the infestation, while other affected farmers reported losses ranging from six to 20 bags of beans.
The farmers said the losses had affected both their incomes and household food supplies, noting that many depended on farm produce for consumption and income to meet expenses such as school fees, medical bills and other family needs.
Iliyasu Abdullahi Gomari, who had expected to harvest about 20 bags of beans, said he planned to use proceeds from the harvest to support preparations for his children’s weddings.
The affected farmers appealed to the government for assistance, including agricultural inputs and pesticides, to help them recover from the losses and resume production.
The Jigawa State Agricultural Transformation Agency (JATA) said it intervened after receiving reports from field extension agents and the district head.
The Director-General of JATA, Dr Saifullahi Umar, said the agency deployed a technical team to assess the affected farms and profile farmers who suffered losses.
He said the government had also supplied agrochemicals and provided technical guidance to help farmers control the pest and prevent further damage.
Umar attributed the increasing risk of pest outbreaks partly to changing weather patterns, saying high temperatures followed by prolonged interruptions in rainfall could create favorable conditions for pests and crop diseases.
He stressed the importance of early detection and rapid intervention to prevent infestations from spreading to larger farming communities.
An agricultural expert at the Federal University Dutse, Prof. Ado Garba Jangargari, described armyworms as highly destructive pests capable of rapidly defoliating crops and causing significant yield losses, particularly when infestations occur during critical stages of crop development.
Jangargari advised farmers to regularly inspect their farms, plant early and control weeds, particularly wild grasses that can provide breeding grounds for pests.
He also recommended integrated pest management practices, including intercropping, biological control and approved biological pesticides such as neem-based products and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
The expert cautioned farmers against indiscriminate pesticide use, urging them to rely on approved chemicals and rotate chemical classes to minimize the risk of pest resistance.
