By YVONNE CHATE –

A SCIENCE research expert in pest control has attributed current trends of food shortages to lack of adequate monitoring of pests that damage crop yields.
John   Katheru,   a scientist with the International Red Locust Control Organisation for Central and Southern Africa said low crop yields were caused by pests that damaged the produce.
Mr Katheru urged the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor the movement of insects such as locusts and army worms that usually caused severe damage to crops.
Mr Katheru is along with other members of the organisation exhibiting at the ongoing Zambia International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Ndola.
He said in an interview yesterday that inadequate monitoring of the pests could lead to serious consequences of food shortages to the country.
“The Ministry of Agriculture has to monitor insects such as locusts and army worms so that they do not wipe away crops which may lead to shortage of food in the country and diseases that would be as a result of poor diet,” he said
He said the Ministry of Agriculture had been given traps (pheromone traps) for monitoring locusts and army worms to determine the number of insects in a certain area.
“We have given the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock pheromone  traps that are set in areas infested with locusts and army worms and when there is more than 30 tramped it means it becomes dangerous for the area,” he said.
He said the lack of monitoring of the non-beneficial insects, last year led to crop damage of food shortages.
He said to help expand monitoring systems the International Red Locust Control Organisation for Central and Southern Africa was constructing a resource mobilisation centre in Ndola.