Laikipia In Joint Efforts Other Counties, Private Sector To Control Desert Locusts
Updated on: Jan 15, 2020
Laikipia and the neighbouring counties upped their operations to halt the spread of the desert locusts in the region.
The joint effort between the counties of Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu and Meru working together with the private sector and the national government intensified aerial sprays in Samburu and Isiolo Counties for the better part of today in a bid to halt the spread of the deadly pests further southwards.
The pest menace should be declared a national disaster to warrant the national intervention it deserves, based on the assessment of the teams battling the swarms.
The joint effort has seen the deployment of aerial and ground teams to monitor and spray the swarms at the earliest sightings, with the well coordinated Tuesday operation going to as late as six in the evening.
The interventions are aimed at safeguarding agricultural farms and pasture lands from the destruction the desert locusts have been seen to unleash in the northern part of the country and event the neighboring countries.
The teams are currently being coordinated in Isiolo County, and have seen the aerial spray teams make tremendous progress based on the information provided by the ground teams.
Today, the aerial spray planes shuttled between Samburu and Isiolo Counties into the late afternoon, and will rely on the ground teams to provide the information on the areas the swarms will be making their overnight stop. This will provide the spray team with the exact locations to descend on early the next day when the locusts are least active, a strategy that has proved to be very effective.
The spray teams zeroed in on two locations in Isiolo and Samburu Counties where the insects made a stop Tuesday evening, with the spraying scheduled to start there early Wednesday.
The desert locusts are the most dangerous pests in the world, according to the UNs Food and Agricultural Organization FAO. The dreaded insects are a threat to food security and livelihoods, as they devour entire vegetation on their path. For instance, a large swarm of 1000 square kilometers requires about 100,000 tons of food daily, enough to feed 500,000 people for one year.
The fact that the insects breed fast warrants the urgent interventions the region has resulted to.
The joint effort between the counties of Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu and Meru working together with the private sector and the national government intensified aerial sprays in Samburu and Isiolo Counties for the better part of today in a bid to halt the spread of the deadly pests further southwards.
The pest menace should be declared a national disaster to warrant the national intervention it deserves, based on the assessment of the teams battling the swarms.
The joint effort has seen the deployment of aerial and ground teams to monitor and spray the swarms at the earliest sightings, with the well coordinated Tuesday operation going to as late as six in the evening.
The interventions are aimed at safeguarding agricultural farms and pasture lands from the destruction the desert locusts have been seen to unleash in the northern part of the country and event the neighboring countries.
The teams are currently being coordinated in Isiolo County, and have seen the aerial spray teams make tremendous progress based on the information provided by the ground teams.
Today, the aerial spray planes shuttled between Samburu and Isiolo Counties into the late afternoon, and will rely on the ground teams to provide the information on the areas the swarms will be making their overnight stop. This will provide the spray team with the exact locations to descend on early the next day when the locusts are least active, a strategy that has proved to be very effective.
The spray teams zeroed in on two locations in Isiolo and Samburu Counties where the insects made a stop Tuesday evening, with the spraying scheduled to start there early Wednesday.
The desert locusts are the most dangerous pests in the world, according to the UNs Food and Agricultural Organization FAO. The dreaded insects are a threat to food security and livelihoods, as they devour entire vegetation on their path. For instance, a large swarm of 1000 square kilometers requires about 100,000 tons of food daily, enough to feed 500,000 people for one year.
The fact that the insects breed fast warrants the urgent interventions the region has resulted to.
