The government through the National Treasury together with the Ministry of Agriculture has set aside Ksh230 million to support in the operation and containment of locust swarms.
As a containment measure, two aircraft have been diploid to do aerial control of the locusts. Four more additional aircraft will be deployed on Thursday; one from the forest, two from the pipeline and another one from wildlife.
Four thousand seven hundred (4,700) litres of pesticides have been released to four counties to counter the insects which have wreaked havoc.
The government has also indicated that an extra 20,000 litres of pesticide have been procured and are awaiting delivery, with experts having been deployed for training at the county level.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Peter Munya during a press briefing, told Kenyans not to forward photos of locusts for identification. He said the ministry had already deployed competent people on the ground who were employing scientific methods to identify the locusts.
“Please stop sending us photos of locusts anymore, we already have competent people on the ground who are using scientific methods to identify them,” he said.
His first assignment after being appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta seems to be a countermeasure of his predecessor Mwangi Kiunjuri who was ousted from office by the president on January 14, 2020.
Kiunjuri rose eyebrows among Kenyans when he directed Kenyans to send photos of the locusts for easy identification.
“If you see any insect that you suspect could be a locust, take a picture and post on social media so we can confirm for you what insect it really is,” Mr. Kiunjuri said.
During the presser, Munya acknowledged the magnitude of the locust invasion confirming swarms were in eight counties so far.
