“The ongoing control operation has drastically reduced locusts’ spreading and multiplication,” says Col (Rtd) Julius Ngera, who oversees the National Locust Control Centre.
He says the ongoing rains and the change in wind direction, currently flowing from south to north, have pushed locusts from the Nyiro range complex towards the Suguta Valley in Samburu, South Horr and North Horr sub-counties of Marsabit, and Loima, Lokichar and Napetao wards in Turkana.
Mr Ambrose Ngetich, who manages the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) control operations in the regions, worries that if adult locusts are not spotted in time, they can lay eggs and take the operations back to square one.
The chemical control of the pests is a delicate balancing act and the effects of the spray operations on the pasture and animals have been a matter of contention for months.
Mr Stanley Kipkoech, the assistant director for pest control in the Ministry of Agriculture, says field officers use local systems, like the Nyumba Kumi initiative, to issue notices to residents before spraying.
