As billions of locusts continue to descend on various parts of Kenya in the worst outbreak in 70 years, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has warned that a force to combat an invasion of the crop-devouring pest is at risk of grinding to a halt as funding to sustain its operations dries up.
The second invasion of the destructive pests entered Kenya from Somalia and Ethiopia after unusual weather changes, decimating crops and pasturelands in the areas and threatening the livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people.
FAO says without additional financing for fuel, airtime and pilot hours, the 28 anti-locust aircraft which are now patrolling the skies to spot and spray locust swarms could cease operations in March.
FAO’s Deputy Director-General Laurent Thomas in a statement on Wednesday said the locust fighting machine that has been assembled in Kenya and East Africa is now fully equipped and able to contain, suppress and eventually end this record-breaking upsurge.
Mr Laurent said: “Governments have built up capacity in record-time. Swarms have been massively reduced in number and in size. It would be tragic to throw these achievements away just as the nations of East Africa are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr Thomas said, adding that they are confident they could bring this upsurge to an end this year.
The UN agency needs $38.8 million (Sh4.1 billion) in additional funding to enable it win this war.
When the first wave of locusts first invaded East Africa, countries had little or no capacity to monitor movements of the pest or mount control activities.
With FAO support, they have succeeded in fielding a locust fighting force in the air and on the ground that involves 28 airplanes and helicopters, 260 ground units and some 3,000 newly trained spotters and control operators across East Africa.
The FAO has also brought on board new innovations such as the eLocust3 digital app, satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and trajectory models to report locusts in real-time and deliver maps of infestations, breeding areas and migration routes.
FAO estimates these efforts helped avoid crop and dairy losses estimated at $1.2 billion (Sh131 billion) safeguarding the livelihoods of 28 million people.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, at least 15 counties have been invaded.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said about 75 swarms of the voracious pests have been sighted in Kenya, and 66 of them have treated since the start of the campaign in December last year.
“Basically 75 swarms have been reported so far and out which 66 have been treated, reflecting a total area of 19,100 hectares,” said Mr Munya.
The locusts upsurge has been fuelled by favourable weather conditions.
The continued breeding of the pests is putting extra stress and impacts to rangelands which will converge with the current droughts to further threaten food security and the livelihoods of vulnerable pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities.
The voracious pests are threatening regions already battling problems such as food insecurity and armed conflicts, raising the spectre of more violence as competition for grazing rises.
Most families are already vulnerable and have now been hit with a triple shock in Covid -19, desert locusts and the risk of animal-related diseases such as Foot and Mouth Diseases and Rift Valley Fever outbreak.