The Armyworm, which is known to happen for the first time in Southern part of Ethiopia, is extending its reach to more areas of the country.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource Development, the armyworm is spreading to Oromia, east and west Amhara, Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz Regions.
So far the worm has damaged crops seeds sown on more than 146 thousand hectares of land in 35 woredas of these areas.
The Ministry urged concerted effort from all stakeholders in order to contain the further spread of the worm and the damage it is causing.
More than 100 thousand litres of anti-worm chemical is distributed to the areas that have become vulnerable to the armyworm epidemic.
The traditional prevention mechanisms should be widely implemented side by side with the scientific ones, the Ministry noted.
The Armyworm, which happened for the first time in South America and Caribean ans suspected to be transported to Africa through imported plants from that sub-continent.