Food crisis in Africa may worsen as fall armyworm hits maize crop.

The food crisis in African countries, caused by two consecutive years of drought, may aggravate further as a migratory pest, fall armyworm, has hit the maize crop in the southern regions of the continent. According to media reports, the pest has affected maize production in half of the African countries, especially in southern Africa. So far, around 1.5 million ha of land in 25 African countries has been infected by the pest which mostly attacks rice, wheat, sweetcorn, sorghum, soybean, and potato crops other than maize. Fall armyworm is believed to originate from America and was first detected in Africa in 2016. Higher demand for maize from Africa may lift the prices in global markets and may make imports less viable for India.