•Massive crop losses expected as locust swarms continue to spread through IGAD region
•Currently, over 19 million people in the region at risk of food insecurity
The Food and Agriculture Organization has warned of massive losses in crop damage in Kenya and other Igad countries due to the worsening locust invasion in the region.
In a press statement on Friday, January 24, FAO warned that the upcoming heavy rains in March portend gloomy times for over 19 million people in the region.
“Under a worst-case scenario, where the current locust upsurge is not quickly contained and becomes a plague by the next main cropping season, significant crop and pasture losses would cause food security in affected areas to worsen further,” FAO said.
Ecological conditions created by the prevailing weather patterns allow for the continued breeding and hatching of locust eggs.
“Some swarms in the north have moved back into southern Ethiopia while others are now mature and laying eggs that will hatch after about two weeks, giving rise to hopper bands in February and March,” the agency said.
FAO also allayed fears that the pesticides used in ground and aerial control operations are harmful to human health.
“So far, we have used pesticides that are authorised internationally and have ultra-low volumes of harmful chemicals. These pesticides are less risky than the common ones,” Cyril Ferrand, FAO sub-regional office resilience team leader, said.
Ferrand further revealed that the control operations have thus far been cognizant of local populations’ movements.
“We are careful not to conduct the operations when people are outside in their fields. The local populations are often informed beforehand,” Ferrand said.
Kenya has not been spared by the current locust invasion — the worst ever witnessed in 25 years within the Eastern African region.
In Kenya, the worst locust invasion in 70 years, areas affected include Mandera, Marsabit, Wajir, northern Laikipia, Meru North, Isiolo, Kapedo, Turkana and Mwingi.
The latest news represents a huge threat to food security in Kenya especially in the aforementioned areas most of which were grappling with drought in 2019.
FAO notes that the extent of the damage will depend on the efforts by stakeholders to stem the flow of the swarms across the IGAD region.
It projects that the swarms will spread to southeast South Sudan, southwest Ethiopia and northeast Uganda.