Locusts are threatening to unleash more havoc in the horn of Africa according to FAO locust watch. In its latest report, FAO locust watch says more swarms are forming as breeding goes on.
“The
situation remains extremely alarming in the Horn of Africa, specifically Kenya,
Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms
are starting to form, representing an unprecedented threat to food security and
livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season,” says the report.
In Kenya, more first-generation immature swarms formed throughout northern and
central counties and are maturing. Some will be ready to lay eggs from next
week and continue to May. Further concentration is expected in Marsabit and
Turkana. Aerial and ground control operations continue in a bid to control
them.
Locusts have continued attacking the country as it battles the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Agriculture last week announced that they were in the process of sourcing 100,000 litres of pesticides. 9 aircrafts are currently being used in the fight with one used for surveillance and eight for aerial spraying.
In Ethiopia, Hopper bands are in Oromiya and
SNNPR regions, including the Rift Valley, and increasing number of new
generation of immature swarms that are maturing
In South Sudan, a few mature
swarms from the south appeared in the southeast near Torit.
