Agriculture CS Peter Munya has reassured the public that the desert locusts will be eliminated in a matter of time.
At the same time, Munya said that locusts with yellow wings are mature and will die soon after laying eggs. "They are mature and will lay eggs, then die. They are not destructive like in nymph stage," the minister said.
He said the ministry has increased sprayer aircraft from eight to 20 to contain and manage the locust infestation.
“Yellow locusts are docile. Do not bother chasing them. Let them remain on top of trees so that they can breed and when the eggs hatch, we will have officers on the ground to spray the nymphs that are destructive,” he said at Gikurune Primary School.
The CS said county officers from 21 devolved units have been trained on surveillance, monitoring and mapping out locust breeding areas and how to fight the insects.
He was on a three-day impact assessment tour of some of the counties adversely affected by the pests. He toured Mbeere South in Embu county, South Imenti in Meru and Isiolo.
Munya said President Uhuru Kenyatta had on Sunday directed him to eliminate the insects.
A technical team from his ministry and FAO, as well as crop protection officers, have identified the spots where the pests have hatched, among them Kipsing in Isiolo, Garissa and Wajir.
He disclosed that 500 National Youth Service officers will be dispatched to identified parts of the country with chemicals, sprayers and relevant equipment to fight the voracious pests.
Swarms of locusts have since December last year invaded 15 counties since they crossed from Somalia and Ethiopia.
“We had no new swarms in Wajir and Garissa in the last two weeks. Only one was reported in Samburu. We lacked chemicals for three weeks but we have now procured enough from Japan. The chemicals are diluted not to harm people, animals and the environment,” Munya said.
