FAO Declares All Counties Except Samburu Free of Desert Locusts

Desert locusts that invaded 25 counties in Kenya have been contained in all the devolved units except Samburu, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced.

In an update on the locust invasion on Monday, the United Nations agency said the only known group of swarms is currently in Barsaloi area, Samburu County.

“The team is conducting surveys for any unspotted swarms. Otherwise, the rest of the affected counties are now locust-free. We remain vigilant, & have also upscaled livelihood recovery,” FAO said in a tweet.

#DesertLocust update:
The only known group of 🦗swarms is currently in Barsaloi, @SamburuCountyKE. The team is conducting surveys for any unspotted swarms. Otherwise the rest of the affected counties are now🦗🦗free. We remain vigilant, & have also upscaled livelihood recovery. pic.twitter.com/YUqp48lWXE

— FAO in Kenya (@FAOKenya) April 26, 2021

FAO had last week indicated that desert locusts swarms are on the decline across the Horn of Africa, attributing the trend to large-scale control operations and poor rains.

Early this month, Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna announced the fight against the locusts had been successful, revealing that the locusts would be effectively contained by mid-April.

Read: Gov’t Sets Aside Ksh3.2 Billion To Fight Second Wave Of Locusts Invasion

The first wave of the invasion was first reported in December 2019.

The locusts invaded counties bordering Ethiopia and Somalia threatening food security in the regions.

In fighting the locusts the government also worked with the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCEO) and the World Bank.

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