Swarms of desert locusts have invaded Turkana and West Pokot counties, ravaging vegetation in several places.<\/p>\n
The locusts, which were first spotted early this month in the two neighbouring counties, are now posing a threat to food security in the semi-arid region.In Turkana, the insects have invaded Lokwamosing in Turkana East Sub-county.\u201cThe swarm split into two batches, with one moving to Katilia in Turkana East while the second landed at Loreamatet-Kerio in Turkana Central,\u201d said Chuman Achuman, in a statement released from the Turkana County communication director.<\/p>\n
He said the locusts have since spread to Elelea, Lotubae, Riet, Napeitom, Katioko, Naanguro, Kalapata, Kainuk and Koputiro. Other affected areas are Loyapat, Abur, Lore-amatet, Ngimurae, Kaemanik and Lorengippi.\u201cThe aggressive feeding habits of these locusts can result in food shortage in the county. This heightens damages caused by existing Desert Locust menace, which the county continues to grapple with,\u201d he said.Mr Achuman said they have set up a locust control base to liaise with the multi-Institutional Techno Team formed by the national government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team is in charge of response, reporting, coordination, mapping and surveillance as mobilisation and sensitisation of communities in preparation for aerial spraying to start this week starts,\u201d he said.He said the border areas of Turkana are remote and insecure and hence a potential breeding ground of Desert Locusts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to monitor, assess and give regular updates in the areas the Desert Locusts will be spotted. The public is therefore advised to be on high alert and immediately report any cases of locust invasion to hotline mobile numbers 0725970563, 0718988718 or 0714480405,\u201d he said.In West Pokot, the locusts have wreaked havoc on Talam, Mosop, Toghomo, Amolem, Akiriamet, Kaakong and Lomut villages, destroying crops, pasture and vegetation.Pokot Central Deputy County Commissioner Simiyu Were said the invasion started last week and a team had been dispatched to affected areas.\u201cWe are monitoring to present a comprehensive report for action and we are asking the locals to report any invasion,\u201d said the DC.<\/p>\n
Destroy crops<\/strong><\/p>\n Weiwei irrigation scheme chairperson Mark Meut said the locusts have destroyed crops and shrubs\u00a0in the scheme.\u201cThe locusts have even destroyed mangoes and this is a threat to food security in the area. The crops had survived the deadly landslide recently,\u201d he said.Mr Meut said the locusts are disastrous to the pastoral community, who rely on vegetation to feed their livestock.Agriculture Executive Joel Ngasia said county officers were on the ground.\u201cThe Ministry of Agriculture will provide farmers with other methods they can engage in controlling the locusts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n David Kamama, a local, said residents were staring at a possible food crisis.\u201cMost locals here,\u00a0being pastoralists, depend on vegetation for their livestock. Unfortunately, if we do not control them, the locusts might cause more havoc spelling doom to both animals and people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Swarms of desert locusts have invaded Turkana and West Pokot counties, ravaging vegetation in several places. The locusts, which were first spotted early this month in the two neighbouring counties, are now posing a threat to food security in the semi-arid region.In Turkana, the insects have invaded Lokwamosing in Turkana East Sub-county.\u201cThe swarm split into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8],"tags":[378,809,1318,1319],"class_list":["post-2382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","tag-desert-locusts","tag-mandera","tag-turkana","tag-west-pokot"],"yoast_head":"\n