Locusts invade farms in Turkana

By LUCAS NG’ASIKE

Agro-pastoralists farmers in Loima District in Turkana County have suffered huge losses on their farms from massive locust invasion in the region.

The farmers at Kang’ilita Irrigation Schemes in Loima district have decried the invasion as a major setback to their economic sustainability despite their recent devoted engagements into farming.

They said raised fear of low crop yields in the coming harvesting season as a result of the unprecedented invasion.

Ms Pauline Nakali, a farmer, said that her farm has been extensively damaged by the locust pest and could hardly think of ways to regain the loss.

“We are experiencing big loss of crops to locust invasion and that we expect low yield this season since our farms have been destroyed by the pest,” Ms Nakali said.

She appealed to the government and donor partners to intervene and salvage the situation before it goes out of hand.

But the Rift Valley Director of Agriculture Leonard Nyambuya told farmers that the Ministry of Agriculture and the development partner Food Agriculture Organizations (FAO) would send experts to tackle the pest.

Mr Nyambuya said the ministry and the donor partner will provide insecticide to fight the pest.

He said experts from the directorate of crop and pest in the ministry will supply appropriate chemicals and insecticides to get rid of the pests.

“We are immediately sending the experts to assess the damage caused by the pest before we swing to action to eradicate it,” Nyambuya said.

The director who addressed farmers’ field schools in Kangilita irrigation scheme directed the Field extension officers to assess the damage caused by the pest.

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