The desert locusts—in the worst invasion in Kenya in 70 years, according to the United Nations—have destroyed huge swaths of crops and pasture in the region, said farmer Joyce Mutinda, but the extent of the damage cannot yet be determined since new swarms are spreading.A swarm of desert locusts following a poor harvest season has added to fears about a lack of food for millions in Kenya, as the country grapples with the effects of COVID-19.
“We mainly farm millet, sorghum, maize, green grams and peas, and in a good harvest we do about 20 bags of each crop, but because of the locust invasion, getting a bag was a challenge,” Mutinda said.
The desert locust is the most destructive of all food-eating locust species because of its speed and ability to reproduce rapidly. Changes in climatic conditions have created a perfect breeding ground for the insects, said Emmanuel Atamba, a food and farming systems consultant who works with Route to Food, an alliance for the human right to food in Kenya. He is also founder of APSID, which supports sustainable farming.
Swarms of desert locusts can stay in the air for very long periods, traveling up 130 kilometers, or 80 miles, each day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the swarms can vary in size, covering from 1 square kilometer to several hundred square kilometers, with up to 80 million adult locusts in each square kilometer. The locusts can eat as much food in one day as 35,000 people, according to the organization.