Kenya says desert locust invasion is increasing

Xinhua
03 Feb 2021, 22:14 GMT+10

NAIROBI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday that it is still battling the second wave of the desert locust invasion which is growing every day.

Peter Munya, cabinet secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives told journalists in Nairobi that the fight against the pest remains very unpredictable because the swarms are coming from outside the country.

"The tracking of the desert locust outside the country is not very accurate," Munya said during the Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO) regulations forum.

Munya said that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is assisting the east African nation to contain the pest through use of modern technology.

"However, we can't do anything to prevent the locust from crossing into our borders as we have winds blowing towards our side," he noted.

Munya revealed that the instruments for tracking the movement of the locusts have limitations and hence their projections are sometimes inaccurate.

The ministry of agriculture added that part of the problem with locusts is climate change which is a new phenomenon we are experiencing and has played a role in the new infestation.

According to Munya, Kenya was able to contain the first invasion as most of the pests were cleared with only a few remnants.

He added that the country is deploying all the resources at its disposal to contain the influx of the desert locusts.

Munya said that both aerial and ground spraying operations are currently ongoing in the northeastern region where the insects are concentrated.

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