Greenpeace Africa has urged the National Government to put in combine efforts in the fight against the invasion of locusts in Kenya.
Greenpeace Africa’s Food Campaigner Claire Nasike said that deprioritising the fight against locust invasion will put Kenyans at a greater risk of suffering another shock in the coming months.
“While the government is putting a lot of effort into dealing with the Covid- 19 crisis, it must not abandon the war against locusts," she said
"The locust invasion poses a great threat to food security in the country. The new swarms of locusts are now ravaging the highland areas which are Kenya’s breadbasket."
According to the NGO, the Ministry of Agriculture needs to move with speed to contain the current invasion to curb food shortage which could result in more suffering.
It emphasizes on the need to get rid of the eggs laid by the locusts before they start hatching into new swarms.
“The pandemic has presented a challenge to many systems in Kenya. And more than never before, there’s a need for Kenya’s government to coordinate and ensure that different ministries deal with different challenges facing the country right now," Nasike said.
"The Ministry of Agriculture should strengthen its food systems and all the structures that are vital for the survival of its citizens especially in such times of crisis."
Greenpeace Africa further called on the Kenyan government to assess the current health and food crisis from a holistic point of view and come up with measures to cushion Kenyans against hunger in the coming months.
Last month, Agriculture CS Peter Munya said the shortage of pesticides was hampering the fight against locusts
The slow and complex process of procuring effective chemicals and overreliance on development partners had hampered the ongoing efforts to fight locust invasion.
Munya said his ministry had to rely on the Food and Agriculture Organisation to provide resources and acquire the chemical after it depleted the Sh230 million set aside by the Treasury to eradicate the pests.
At least 28,000 litres of the control pesticides have been procured and distributed for use in the 18 affected counties.
