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GFMM desk: Kenya said last Saturday (January 4, 2020) that it had launched airstrikes in three reasons in the north of the country in an attempt to prevent a locust attack. The locust has already done a great deal of damage to agricultural land in neighboring Somalia and Ethiopia.
In a statement, the Kenyan government said that the desert locks began crossing into Kenya at the dawn of December 27, and that the three counties Wajir, Marsabit and Mandera were affected.
"The ability to quench the air has also been achieved and air spraying will begin today (January 4, 2020)". The statement also said that the attack posed a threat to Kenya's food security.
Locusts have already destroyed 70,000 hectares (175,000 acres) of farmland in Somalia and Ethiopia, threatening food supplies in both countries in the worst locust invasion in 70 years, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The statement says the government has collected 3,000 liters of chemicals to assist with the spray and added that to some residents, they will distribute handheld sprayers.
The affected three counties are largely semi-arid and mostly occupied by the pastoral community.
About locusts:
Locusts are a collection of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acridities that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behavior and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions. These grasshoppers are innocuous, their numbers are low, and they do not pose a major economic threat to agriculture.
Source: Online/SZK
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