NEWS

Locusts invasion in the coast of Kenya

Kilifi County triggers alarm: more voracious than before

08-12-2020 by redazione

A new endless swarm of desert locusts threaten Kenya, but this time they have gone as far as the coast.
Kilifi County Prefect Kutswa Olaka and the head of the Executive Committee of Agriculture, Luciana Sanzua, have confirmed that Desert Locusts have been sighted in various parts of the county.
The County Food Security Steering Group has called an emergency meeting scheduled for Friday 11 December to decide on a containment and eradication strategy for the fear that insects may invade the fields in the Magarini, Malindi and Kilifi areas and then spread to other parts of the country. 
As we are used to hearing about Covid-19, the authorities speak of "second wave imminent" and predict even more voracious insects than the previous ones that had infested the Rift Valley.
Experts say the swarms are now in a more destructive phase because they need more food to grow. Residents of the Magarini district have asked the government for urgent support, saying that the invasion could trigger a famine, as the area depends largely on agriculture.
"Desert locust swarms are likely to affect Kenya until January. Their flight path is being mapped and it is estimated that they could infest more than 20 counties by mid-December," said the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Kenya's Agriculture Minister, Hamadi Boga, said the invasion of these voracious insects could affect the coastal region by the end of this week.
The winds from Somalia are helping them to deploy immediately inland, where they find food to reproduce.
But there are also many predatory birds on their tracks, so locusts are a delicious dish.