Uganda's government said on Tuesday it was deploying pesticides to fight an outbreak of African armyworm, which devastates cereal crops and has been discovered in 35 districts of the country.
Uganda is a significant maize producer and exports a large part of its annual output to neighbouring countries including South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.
"The severity and extent of outbreaks are increased by extended drought periods followed by early season rainstorms that facilitate migration of the moths," the agriculture ministry said in a statement. So far the districts where the armyworm caterpillars have been detected are mostly in Uganda's east, centre and north, the ministry said, with crops such as maize, millet and sorghum, as well as pastures affected.
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