Panic as locusts now spotted in Meru

Former Igembe MP Joseph Muturia has said miraa farmers are in fear of locust invasion after the insects were spotted in several parts of Meru county.

The locusts are said to have been seen at Ndumuru village in Ntunene ward and Kina Meru Kiutine.

Residents are appealing to the government to intervene.

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This comes four days after Government Spokesman Rtd. Col. Cyrus Oguna revealed that a spray aircraft had been stationed in Wajir to deal with the menace.

According to him, the aircraft also sprayed swathes of Wajir and Mandera with Marsabit and Garissa next in schedule.

“The Desert Locust Control Operation that has been going on since the insects first crossed into the country on December 28, 2019 has been progressing smoothly with every effort directed at killing the insects and containing their possible movement to other counties,” he said.

The Spokesman added that surveillance and monitoring activities had been heightened and that the Government was in full control of the situation.

The locusts, which entered the country from the Southern side of Somalia, raised concerns among locals in Wajir: many of them are pastoralists.

Some of their crops were destroyed as the locusts moved around for close to two hours before settling 8 to 10 kilometers away from Kutulo town.

On December 18, the Food and Agriculture Organisation had warned that locusts would invade countries within the Horn of Africa.

FAO has warned that the locusts could increase towards the end of January.