(4 minutes read)
· Kenya is staring at the possibility of another locust attack, which can easily spill over to the entire East African region, causing heavy damages to the standing crops
· A helicopter team is stationed in Kenya to track the movements of locusts thanks to the help lent by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Kenya is staring at the possibility of another locust attack, which can easily spill over to the entire East African region, causing heavy damages to the standing crops. Only in last February swarms of locusts devastated east Africa, causing great losses in terms of food grains.
A helicopter team is stationed in Kenya to track the movements of locusts thanks to the help lent by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The team is tracing the movement of the locusts. The surveillance of locusts is never easy in Africa. Mostly, locusts are sighted in rural and far off areas close to agricultural fields and forest areas, where food crops grow.
Swarms of locusts can travel distances of 200 kilometres (124 miles) a day, ravaging everything green that they encounter along their way devastating tracts of food crops. Young hopper locusts can be seen on the top of trees and plants.
Once locusts are identified, people on the ground take a GPS location and then communicate that with the helicopter pilot who is doing the surveillance. The pilot makes verification of the stage of development of the locusts for the experts to take informed decisions to tackle the menace. Locusts normally won’t kill the plants and they can rejuvenate on their own. Also, the insects’ faeces is also a rich fertilizer.