Swarms of destructive insects came from Somalia, entering the country through Mandera
By Angela Oketch
It is fast, ferocious and will stop at nothing. It is called a desert locust or, scientifically, Schistocerca gregaria. The desert locust, the insect wreaking havoc across the country, is one of the most destructive species. It’s greatest assets being agility and endurance, enabling it to remain in the air for long periods of time. Thanks to this, the desert locust can cover 150km per day at a speed of 16km/hr, destroying everything in its path.
For an animal so small, the desert locust has an appetite of a mammoth. There is no better evidence of this than the now bare fields in different parts of Kenya that were once covered with plants.
A large desert locust plague can contain up to 150 million individuals per square kilometre, with half a million locusts weighing approximately one tonne. One tonne of locusts eats as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels or 2,500 people.
Experts estimate the insects are capable of destroying at least 200 tonnes of vegetation per day.
In Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Moyale, Marsabit, Isiolo, Samburu, Meru and most recently Laikipia and Kirinyaga counties, locusts are crawling everywhere. Farmers are at the mercy of the pest, with the swarm raiding crops and pasture, threatening food security. Now there are fears of a human-wildlife conflict as animals could be forced to forage on farmlands.
https://www.nation.co.ke/health/Why-locust-invasion-now/3476990-5433508-19lgct/index.html
Anti-locust pesticide sprayed on over 400,000 acres of land, court told
https://www.dawn.com/news/1529117
Kenyan Farmers Hit by Worst Locust Swarms in 70 Years
https://www.voanews.com/africa/kenyan-farmers-hit-worst-locust-swarms-70-years