Farmer finds novel way to battle fall armyworms

Jackline Wamuyu started experimenting on how to eradicate fall armyworms two years ago. The worms had wiped out her two acres of maize. Just like many farmers, she had tried everything in the book — from artificial pesticides to unorthodox powder detergents — but none worked.

“I was frustrated and I thought of how to kill them so I decided to carry out an experiment,” she told Business Daily at her home in Mirera village, about 10 kilometres from Nanyuki town.

“I put the worms in a container, threw in leaves from different types of trees, some of which I knew had medicinal value.”

The invasive pests ate some leaves but left the succulent aloe vera plant untouched.

Ms Wamuyu found out, through research, that the aloe vera sap caused the armyworm's skin to itch. She identified six other plants with medicinal value and tried to feed them to the armyworms. They did not eat the leaves.

Elsewhere in the country, the worms had gobbled hundreds of acres of maize, especially in Uasin Gishu, central Kenya, Trans Nzoia and South Rift, leaving a trail of havoc and destruction in their wake.

This was part of the reason Ms Wamuyu was emboldened to find a weapon that could fell them.

Today, at her home, Ms Wamuyu has seven different varieties of plants she uses to make her highly-sought after pesticide that kills the worms.

Initially, she would cut the leaves and stems into small pieces using a carrot grater. She would then mix them in a big can with water and cover it tightly for seven days to allow fermentation.

The result, after sieving, is a concentrate she uses to kill armyworms in her farm while the residue is used as manure.

“It works because when I spray in my maize fields, the worms die instantly,” she said.

With time, other farmers started asking her to spray their farms. It was then she realised she could sell the mixture as a pesticide.

To make 100 litres of the concentrate, Ms Wamuyu needs four kilogrammes of different types of leaves that she slices into small pieces using an electric machine. The process takes less than three minutes.

She sells the pesticide at Sh1,000 a litre, which is enough to spray at least an acre with 150ml mixed with 15 litres of water.

According to Ms Wamuyu, her journey into making the pesticide in large quantities started in March last year when she participated in the Laikipia County Innovation Fair where she presented her novel idea.

After the Laikipia Development and Innovation Programme (LIDP) and the County Enterprise Fund advanced her a loan of Sh180,000, which she invested in a shredder.

She also used part of the money to install electricity, making it possible for her to transition from using a grater to a shredder.

“Before I bought the shredder, cutting the leaves and stems was a nightmare because some leaves make your skin itch,” she said.

“I hope my invention will solve the problems for farmers.

Her plan is to register a company and have the product approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

As she waits this process, she is waging war on the armyworms.

“When called upon by farmers, I marshal my team of 10 young men with pumps on their backs and descend on the armyworms. When I see them shrink at the touch of my pesticide, I know we are about to win this war,” said the mother of 10.

Ms Wamuyu, who has worked as an early childhood teacher for over 15 years, plans to resign from her day job to concentrate on her venture.

She has partnered with the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, which is helping her fine-tune her innovation by subjecting it to scientific investigation.

She has also been offered a Sh1.5 million scholarship by the Kenya Climate and Innovation Centre based at the Strathmore University where she is undertaking various courses, including record keeping, branding and how to run and sustain a profitable business enterprise.