Saturday, January 12, 2008
Experts are in Wajir to study the migration patterns of a locusts' invasion.
The locusts, which have invaded parts of the district, have caused widespread destruction to fragile vegetation cover.
The department of agriculture has issued an alert to neighbouring districts to be on the look out and put in place preventive measures to curb further spread.
The area livestock Development Officer Abdille Orma said the pests have exhausted big chunks of the vegetation cover and shrubs posing a threat to pastoralists recovering from the 2006 drought.
The District Agricultural Officer Hussein said the locusts were migrating southwards towards the windward side in search of green vegetation and could reach parts of Garissa, lagdera, Isiolo, Meru and Moyale in the next one week.
Hussein said sensitization and awareness campaigns were in progress though no other intervention measures had been taken because the pests were not breeding due to dry spell in the region.
Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture reported a locust invasion in parts of northeastern province.
Agriculture PS Dr Romano Kiome said a large swarm of locusts had entered the country through Mandera and Wajir from neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia.
A swarm of desert locusts usually contains billions of insects moving in excess of 40 kilometers length.
The arrival of such a large number of insects complicates, lives of farmers, and pastoralists alike, as it eats any form of vegetation on its path.
But speaking in his office last month, Kiome said the government has put in place measures to handle the locust invasion believed to be covering vast areas of land in the North Eastern region of the country.
The insects are moving in populations of between 200 and 300 per square meter.
Kiome said the locusts are currently hibernating and are not a danger but could wreck havoc once the eggs hatch in another 21 days.
The last locust invasion in the country 45 years ago, however in recent times, Mauritania in West Africa was invaded by the desert locusts that almost rendered the country bare.
Source: KBC, Jan 12, 2008