Kirinyaga farmers in panic after locusts are spotted in farms

The residents of Kirinyaga have been thrown into panic after a swarm of locusts made its way into the county. The insects were first spotted in Riandira village in Mwea, on Sunday.

The farmers in Kirinyaga, led by the Majority Leader in the County Assembly James Kamau, have called on the government to help them deal with the menace.

Locusts in Meru

Just the other day, the locusts were spotted in farms in different parts of Meru county, making the farmers in the county anxious.

The swarm of locusts have been making steady progress inland after they first invaded Wajir county, from the Southern Somalia.

They made landfall in Ndumuru village in Ntunene ward and Kine Meru Kiutine areas of the Meru county, according to former Igembe MP Joseph Muturia.

The government, through its spokesman Rtd. Col. Cyrus Oguna, said it had a spray aircraft on the ready in Wajir, and said they have the situation under control.

Despite this affirmation, the progress of the spraying has been marred by an acute shortage of ‘chemicals’ used to annihilate the locusts. In a report, Mandera county government stated that they were  3,000 litres short of chemicals, as the 1,000 litres they had was far from enough.

Meanwhile, almost 12,000 square kilometres of landmass had been infested in the county, with the swarms leaving behind a trail of destruction that could result in acute food crisis.

A warning about locust invasion in countries in the Horn of Africa was sounded by the Food and Agriculture Organization back in December 18, 2019.