- Swarms of locust have increased significantly over the past month in 18 counties
- MPs want President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the invasion a national disaster
Image: LINAH MUSANGI
MPs want the government to set aside Sh5 billion for compensating farmers whose crops will be ravaged by the locust invasion.
National Assembly Agriculture and Livestock committee chairperson Adan Haji Ali said the committee will push for the amount during the ongoing budget making process.
“We are currently setting out strategic priorities and policy goals that will guide the national and county governments in preparing their budgets,” the Mandera South Member of Parliament said.
He said the locust invasion will result in huge losses for farmers as their crops and fodder will be destroyed by the marauding insects.
Ali said the committee will ask the Ministry of Agriculture to advise President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the invasion a national disaster.
“Locusts have invaded 18 counties so far. It is high time we declared the invasion a national disaster so that we can unlock funds to deal with them,” he explained.
He said the military should be deployed to assist in the fight against the insects, stating that the move worked in other countries that were going through similar experiences.
Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi said farmers in the North Rift region fear the invasion and are hesitant to embark on planting.
“Farmers don't want to plant because they fear their crops will be destroyed a few weeks later,” he said.
Swarms of locust have increased significantly over the past month in Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Laikipia, Mandera, Kitui, Baringo, Meru, Embu and Turkana.
These same counties have experienced devastating droughts and floods in recent years and over three million people have been facing high levels of food insecurity.
The swarms are destroying pasture for livestock and will likely devastate crops in the coming planting season.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba has asked the government to declare the locust invasion as a national disaster.
Somalia has declared a national emergency as large swarms of locusts spread across East Africa.
Locusts can travel up to 150km (93 miles) in a day. Each adult insect can eat its own weight in food daily.
The Horn of Africa is suffering the worst desert locust invasion in decades, devastating pastoralist and farming communities in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Uganda.
South Sudan and Tanzania are on the UN watch list. For Kenya, it is the worst infestation in 70 years and the worst outbreak in 25 years for Somalia and Ethiopia.