Nearly five million bags of maize in production losses attributed to the armyworm invasion last year alone certainly warrant intervention by the national government.
Conflicting statements from officials over whose responsibility it is to spearhead the fight against the armyworm invasion are unfortunate.
The director of crops at the Ministry of Agriculture, Johnson Irungu, is the latest official to weigh in with comments suggesting that the familiar role conflict between the national and county governments could be undermining efforts to control a pest that presents a serious threat to the country’s food security.
If Dr Irungu’s assertions are anything to go by, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to hold that it is up to the counties to deal with the armyworm menace because disease and pest control is a devolved function. The national government, says the crops director, can only intervene where the county governments are overwhelmed.
The ministry’s position harks back to the sticky issue of Kenya’s half-hearted transition to devolution in which roles were seen to be ceded to the counties without proportionate resource allocation.
Nevertheless, the magnitude of damage inflicted by the pest in the breadbasket regions suggests that the counties are largely helpless.
Nearly five million bags of maize in production losses attributed to the armyworm invasion last year alone certainly warrant intervention by the national government.
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