Desert Locust in Kenya, finally solutions are found...!!!

 

AGM-Kenya    They weigh only a few grams but destroy everything in their path. Desert locusts once again threaten the Horn of Africa.

According to France24, these insects damage crops and endanger the food security of the population. Jane Gatumwa, farmer "These locusts will destroy everything, look at this corn if you look closely you will only see it today and tomorrow, the day after tomorrow there will be nothing left. We had some weeds to feed our cattle, but there is nothing left now, the locusts have all finished everything is dry.”

A locust swarm has between 40 and 80 million insects and can eat as much as 35,000 people in a day. The proliferation of these locusts is favored by climatic conditions.

The best way to end this scourge is to spray the fields with pesticides.

In Kenya, we have another way, thanks to farmers… Nowadays, they use locusts plague in order to feed their animals. The Bug Picture is working with communities around the area of Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu in central Kenya to harvest the insects and mill them, turning them into protein-rich animal feed and organic fertilizer for farms.

"We are trying to create hope in a hopeless situation, and help these communities alter their perspective to see these insects as a seasonal crop that can be harvested and sold for money," said Laura Stanford, founder of The Bug Picture.

According to Reuters, in central Kenya's Laikipia, clouds of locusts are devouring crops and other vegetation. The Bug Picture is targeting swarms of 5 hectares or less in inhabited areas not suitable for spraying.

The locusts are collected at night by torchlight when they are resting on shrubs and trees. The insects are crushed and dried, then milled and processed into powder, which is used in animal feed or an organic fertiliser.

 

As a reminder, last year Kenya experienced the worst locust invasion in 70 years. In 2020, around 2.5 million people farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists were affected. Between December and what we expect until April-May, 3.5 million people will be affected in the region. Explains Cyril Ferrand, Resilience Team Leader for Eastern Africa – FAO.

Penda DJIGO/AGM

 

 

 

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