Kenya is struck by the worst invasion of desert locusts in 70 years as hundreds of millions of the bugs swarm in from Somalia and Ethiopia.
The hum of millions of locusts on the move is broken by the screams of farmers and the clanging of pots and pans. But their noise-making does little to stop the voracious insects from feasting on their crops in this rural community.
When rains arrive in March and bring new vegetation across much of the region, the numbers of the fast-breeding locusts could grow 500 times more before drier weather in June curbs their spread, the United Nations says.“We must act immediately,” said David Phiri of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization as donors huddled in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, a three-hour drive away.
Astonished by the finger-length insects, children dashed here and there, waving blankets or plucking at branches to shake the locusts free. One woman, Kanini Ndunda, batted at them with a shovel.Even a small swarm of the insects can consume enough food to feed 35,000 people in a single day, said Jens Laerke of the U.N. humanitarian office in Geneva.
They also need a steady supply of pesticides, said Francis Kitoo, deputy director of agriculture in southeastern Kenya’s Kitui county.“The locals are really scared because they can consume everything,” Kitoo said. “I’ve never seen such a big number.” They are now heading toward Uganda and fragile South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. Uganda has not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and is already on alert.
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