Members of Muguga Food Security have received training on armyworm control from agricultural extension officers stationed at Nakuru Town East sub-county office. The group requested training from the county agricultural office following an infestation of their farms located in Lanet Umoja Ward by the pest.
The training, which was delivered by a team of 3 agricultural extension officers, took place on 21st June 2017 on a farm owned by one of the members. It featured live demonstrations of infested crops and the spraying procedures.
The group was educated on the characteristics of foul armyworms and why it is very dangerous compared to other pests, early signs of infestation, prevention measures, ideal pesticides, and how the pesticides should be applied to crops.
A practical spraying demonstration was conducted on one of the group member’s farms. Through the practical session, members learned how to mix and spray pesticides. After the live demonstration, the extension officers distributed 2 liters of the pesticide to group members for use on their farms.
Members of this group were able to take this action after realizing that they could request services from duty bearers during a session on tools for citizen participation during sustained civic education sessions delivered by one of CTL’s civic educators.