KENYA OPTS FOR PESTICIDES TO CONTAIN LOCUST INFESTATIONS

A Kenyan farmer from the Kyuso region inspects her devastated field after a swarm of locusts passes through. 

As the devastating locust invasion continues to spread in East Africa and a new wave of locusts is gathering, pesticide spraying seems the only possible option for Kenya, despite the possible risks to the environment.

Chlorpyrifos, teflubenzuron, or deltamethrin: these are the barbaric names of the chemicals, which are the tools of battle to stem the locust invasion plaguing East Africa.

On Monday, the Kenyan government launched a large-scale spraying operation in Wajir, Samburu, and Marsabit counties, where the swarms laid their eggs, and which have now hatched.

“This is the best time to kill them,” said Mehari Tesfayohannes Ghebre, Information and Forecasting Officer for the Desert Locust Control Organization in East Africa (DLCO-EA).

These four counties are among the 10 affected in Kenya. After Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, swarms are now reaching Uganda, Tanzania, and southern Sudan, while billions of eggs are maturing, promising the arrival of a devastating second wave. The first has already destroyed thousands of hectares in a region where 13 million people are already severely food insecure.

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