Zimbabwean farmers, already under severe stress, thanks to a meagre and delayed rainy season, are now pitted against an army with a difference. Their croplands have been invaded by an "army worm" -- a swarm of flying pests.

The army worm has spread to many of Zimbabwe's main grain-producing northern Mashonaland provinces. It came into the country from neighbouring Zambia. But, says Di Taylor, an entomologist with the Commercial Farmers Union, Zembabwean "farmers are on top of the situation and the crops are generally safe". The stand has been reiterated by the government.