ADDIS ABABA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Meteorology Agency on Monday warned farmers across the country over the prospect of above-average rainfall in the coming days which could affect crops.
The announcement came amid Ethiopia's battle with the ongoing drought that hits parts of the east African country affecting 7.8 million Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid.
The agency through its announcement indicated that the above-average rainfall would threaten the safety of agricultural crops in some cereal producing regions of the country during the upcoming five days.
As the country is still facing below-average rainfall, the Ethiopian Meteorology Agency recommended farmers and institutions to take water-saving measures during the coming days so as to combat the long-term impact of the drought.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources has recently announced that the fall armyworm, another agricultural treat, has spread into six major maize harvesting regions in the country, partially-damaging over 145,000 hectares of maize production.
Primarily spotted in Ethiopia in late February 2017, the insect has been rapidly expanding its presence over the past three months.
The Ethiopian Meteorology Agency has cautioned that the unexpected above-average rainfall could also create favorable conditions for others pests to emerge and advised close monitoring. Enditem
