Kenya clears second wave of locust invasion

Kenya has cleared most of the second wave of desert locust swarms that entered the country from neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia in mid-November affecting almost a third of the 47 counties in East Africa’s biggest economy.

“The total number of swarms that settled in the country between November 2020 and January 2021 are 75, out of which 66 have been treated. The exercise has thus largely been successful,” according to a statement on the Ministry of Agriculture’s website.

The arrival of the new swarms comes after Kenya faced its worst locust invasion in 70 years in 2020 that threatened the food security of millions of people after the insects laid waste to vast swaths of crops. At the height of the infestation 39 of Kenya’s 47 counties reported invasions of the insects that also swamped Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Yemen.

Preliminary estimates in September last year “indicated that the swarms had flattened about 175,000 hectares of crop and pastureland upsetting the livelihoods of nearly 164,000 households,” according to a statement on the World Bank’s website.

To contain the invasions, Kenya’s government has established eight control bases to coordinate desert-locust management operations. It has also in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization and other agencies trained more than 500 personnel to be stationed at the bases, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

“We want to reassure Kenyans that the government is adequately prepared to combat the desert-locust invasion in the country,”  the statement said.