Locust swarms in northern Kenya have started maturing — FAO

A few swarms of locusts that have invaded several parts of the country have started to mature, the UN-Food and Agriculture Organization has said.

“In the southeast, fledging is in progress near Taita Taveta county, causing small immature swarms to form while a few late instar hopper bands are present along the coast,” FAO locust watch update shows.

The update released at the weekend showed that if it rains in the coming weeks, swarms will mature and lay eggs. These will hatch and give rise to hopper bands during February and March, FAO has said.

The update also shows that several immature swarms continue to arrive in Kenya from Ethiopia and Somalia.

"The swarms are mainly appearing in the northeast and east, from where they are spreading west into northern and central counties,” the locust watch stated.

FAO said swarms have so far been reported in 11 counties. They are Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Turkana, Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo, Meru North, Meru Central, and Tharaka.

This compares to seven at the beginning of last week.

On Thursday, during a national address on the status of the impact of the second wave of desert locust invasion in Kenya, Agriculture CS Peter Munya said 15 counties had been infested.  

He said desert locusts had been reported in Marsabit, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Mandera, Machakos, Kitui, Isiolo, Samburu, Laikipia, Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties.

"So far, the total number of swarms that settled in the country between November 2020 and January 2021 are 75. Of this number, 66 have been treated reflecting a total area of 19,100ha (approximately 47,197 acres). The exercise has thus largely been successful," Munya said.

FAO indicated that as conditions remain dry in some areas, swarms are expected to disperse throughout southern and northern Ethiopia and north-central Kenya.

“Intense ground and aerial control operations are in progress in both countries to reduce current swarm populations so that the scale of the upcoming breeding may be lower.” 

Munya said the government has established eight control bases in Isiolo, Marsabit, Masinga, Garissa, Turkana (Lodwar), Mandera, Lamu (Witu) and Taita Taveta to coordinate desert locust management operations.