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Counties that suffered from the desert locust invasion earlier this year and those that are still battling insects have embarked on intensive scout training to monitor their movement as the United Nations agency warns of more swarms.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned last week that the current situation in East Africa remains extremely alarming as more swarms mature in Ethiopia and northern and central Kenya.
Speaking to the NationTharaka-Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who is also chairman of the Board of Governors’ Agriculture Committee, said explorers are being trained to monitor the movement and age of insects and any other important knowledge to combat locusts. .
He said browsers are being trained to report using a digital platform known as eLocust3 which is an application installed on a smartphone.
Once the data has been entered into the system, it is transmitted via satellite from the field site to the National Locust Center and FAO Headquarters in Rome in real time for immediate and effective action.
Mr. Njuki said that in all counties, scouts come from across the region to ensure that reports are made immediately if there is an invasion.
“In Tharaka-Nithi County we have identified 30 explorers; ten of the Maara and Chuka sub-counties, the other 10 of the Tharaka South and Igambang’ombe sub-counties and the rest of the Tharaka-North sub-county, ”said Njuki.
He said the last time that most counties were caught off guard and leaders only relied on local media for alerts.
He added that the media information was sometimes not timely and could not report good decisions because it was not detailed.
Njuki said the explorers will be able to provide information on the invaded area, the age of the insects and other details that will help the government make the right decisions.
He said that according to the FAO, there is a new generation of locusts in the counties that were not fumigated, the nymphs that were born after the invasion from January to March.
He said new swarms are projected to be expected in many counties in late June and July, when many mature crops will be on farms and can wreak havoc.
He said it is unfortunate that in some counties such as Samburu, Isiolo and Marsabit, the hoppers are already mature and mass breeding is expected if they are not hastily destroyed.
However, he said that although the government is on high alert, ongoing heavy rains are likely to hamper significant action because it is impossible to spray during heavy rains.
“According to experts, rain and warmer temperatures provide favorable conditions for lobster farming and that is why we must be prepared for the worst,” he said.
Njuki said insects are a major threat to food security in the country and that serious action is needed.
The governor said that in Tharaka-Nithi County alone, farmers lost at least 2,403 metric tons of food crops to insects between January and March in which more than 30,000 acres were invaded in the Tharaka North sub-county.
However, he said the county government, in collaboration with the national government, managed to spray all the nymphs that hatched from the eggs that were laid on the 30,000 acres.
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