Muchiri Gitonga
19 December 2007
Nairobi — Plant protection experts have stepped up the fight against desert locusts that have, for the first time in 45 years, invaded parts of northern Kenya.
Although the swarms of mature locusts, covering 16 square kilometres, did not stay long on the Kenyan soil, they laid millions of eggs that have already hatched into hoppers, also known as nymphs.
Efforts to eradicate the dangerous pests began in earnest two weeks after the large swarms passed through the area.
The situation, says Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) on a website, remains serious in northeast Kenya and southeast Ethiopia. There have been fresh reports of infestations farther west in both countries.
On November 30, at least one swarm crossed from Ethiopia to Moyale District and settled in Goda.
In Mandera District, hatching started at the end of November and continued in the first week of December. First and second hopper bands are said to have formed in Neboi, Fikow, Burabor and Bella areas.
The density of the hoppers is said to be more than 2,000 per square metre.
The Desert Locust Control Organisation-East Africa, based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, and Ministry of Agriculture officials have embarked on aerial and ground control operations, which began on December 6.
"We are using aerial, hand and vehicle sprays as well as other methods that can control these pests depending on the terrain. Now, we are managing the situation," a deputy director of agriculture, Mr Joseph Ng'etich, who is spearheading the campaign, told the Nation by telephone after returning from the field.
No locusts have so far been reported farther south in Wajir District.
Although the situation appears to be under control at the moment in Mandera District, there have been unconfirmed reports of hopper bands across the border in southern Somalia and in southeast Ethiopia.
Unfortunately, survey and control operations are not possible in Somalia.
Exploring possibilities
"We are currently collaborating with Ethiopia and exploring possibilities of cooperating with Somalia since these pests move across national borders," Mr Ng'etich said.
FAO says in southeast Ethiopia, adult locusts have been flying in the Borena zone of Oromiya region, which is west of the Ogaden and north of Kenya.
Large numbers of adult locusts were in the districts of Moyale, Dire, Arero and Yabelo.
The pests must have laid millions of eggs during their short stay in the region which take about two weeks to hatch into hoppers which, experts say, are even more dangerous than mature locusts.
According to Mr Ng'etich a team was last week mobilised to take measures in Moyale. If not controlled, the hoppers could start forming new swarms in the first week of January.
In a statement issued a week ago, Agriculture permanent secretary Romano Kiome said the swarms that invaded Kenya originated from Yemen and moved south west and then south east into Ethiopia. In October, he stated, a small swarm invaded eastern Ethiopia and laid eggs in the Ogaden region.
A few also continued towards southern Somalia and northeast Kenya. On November 18, a large and dense swarm flew over Mandera but it was not until two days later that it was reported.
After survey and evaluation since the invasion, the Government braced for a full battle against the swarms.
Cause great damage
"They cause great damage to crops, pastures and browse if left uncontrolled," said Dr Kiome.
Locusts, are particularly known to take a heavy toll on crops and other vegetation. Moving in cloud-like swarm, the pests do not spare any green plant in their wake.
In northern Kenya, the insects pose a serious danger to the livestock production as their invasion could wipe out pasture.
"They almost caused darkness as they flew over Moyale Town in a cloud-like swarm. But the Government officials say they did not cause any harm as they crossed over to Ethiopia," a Moyale resident, Mr Abdi Ali, told the Nation by telephone. It is suspected that the insects have been attracted to the area by moist soils, which they require to breed. Northern Kenya has of late experienced good rains that have brought about the perfect conditions for the insects to breed.
It is easy to control locusts at their hopper stage since they cannot fly and can only move short distances on the ground.
Pastoralists in the affected region have also been given time to move their flocks so that they do not come into contact with the sprayed pastures before the chemicals break down. The control teams are using synthetic pyrethroy chemicals which are specifically manufactured for these insects.
The ultra low volume chemicals which are not mixed with water are sprayed into a mist and 0.4 litres can cover an hectare.
Return to fields
Given that the chemicals have the ability to break down fast (approximately seven days) it will allow pastoralists to return their livestock to the fields soon after application. The ground teams have been undergoing training to help them understand all aspects of the exercise.
Kenya is part of the Desert Locusts Control Organisations-East Africa, which also includes Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.
It helps to combat the regular migration of the desert locusts, which mainly come from Yemen in the Middle East.
The organisation, which owns several aircraft for locust control, usually targets the insects at what is referred to as the 'locust frontline', which extends along the Red Sea on the Somali, Eritrean and Sudanese borders.
The frontline has been set to prevent them from coming south into areas with a lot of moisture and high density of greenery where they are likely to cause more harm.
Additional reporting by Wikipedia
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
