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FAO / KENYA DESERT LOCUST
STORY: FAO / KENYA DESERT LOCUST
TRT: 5:00
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MARCH 2020, 1 APRIL 2020 AND 3-4 APRIL 2020, ISIOLO COUNTY, SAMBURU COUNTY, LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA
31 MARCH 2020, OLDONYIRO, ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
1. Drone shots, desert locust swarm flying
2. Wide shot, desert locust swarm flying
3. Med shot, hopper bands travelling on the ground
4. Close up, a desert locust
5. Med shot, desert locusts on tree, tilt down to desert locusts standing on local vegetation in foreground
6. Various shots, desert locusts eating plants
7. Various of Ambrose Ngetich, FAO project officer talking
8. SOUNDBITE (English ) Ambrose Ngetich, FAO project officer:
“The locust infestation is happening in a very wide area, and you find every time you try to control in one region, there is a swarm that is happening in another region, it is not possible to control them simultaneously. Because most of the time they are at different stages, so it requires a lot of personnel and capacity to be able to undertake the control operation and also managing the surveillance in term of the ground team.”
3 APRIL 2020, ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
9. Med shot, a trainee holding a motorized sprayer
10. Wide people in a training on how to use motorized sprayers
4 APRIL 2020, SEREN, SAMBURU COUNTY, KENYA
11. Wide shot, workers in protective gear spraying pesticide
12. Wide shot, a vehicle spraying pesticide
13. Wide shot a worker in protective gear spraying pesticide at desert locust swarm
14. Close up, a dead desert locust
15. Wide shot, an airplane spraying pesticide
31 MARCH 2020, OLDONYIRO, ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambrose Ngetich, FAO project officer:
“Right now the rains are beginning, and if the farmers will not be able to grow their crops early enough, there will be challenge in terms of availability of food in the future given that the locusts infestation continue without being controlled, it is going to impact a lot on the availability of food.”
1 April 2020, Oldonyiro, Isiolo county, Kenya
17. Drone shot, trees and people walking on ground
18. Various shots pastoralists
19. Wide shot, desert locust swarm flying, a camel in background
31 MARCH 2020, OLDONYIRO, ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambrose Ngetich, FAO project officer:
“In terms of the Covid-19 restrictions, we agree with the government the need of restrictions. However, in terms of managing the capacity that are being created for the training and also even managing the control. For example, when we want to load the aeroplane early in the morning, there is also restrictions of timing and also locating the swarms because of curfew. However, we are trying to come up with innovative ways like reducing the number of population that are being met at once for the training, as well as also engaging the security officers so that they can allow a small extension of time for the locusts scout as well as the operation team.”
21. Wide shot, Stanley Kipkoech Arap Talle, senior officials of Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya (camera left) standing in front of a FAO airplane for pesticide spraying
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Stanley Kipkoech Arap Talle, Senior Official of Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya:
“FAO has come in about some weeks ago. They come in handy with the support they have given us. They have given us support in a big way. They have given us supports in terms of training personnel who are supposed to do the ground surveillance. They have also supported us in terms of pesticide – procurement of the pesticide. They have supported us with the hiring of the aircrafts. They have hired three aircrafts for us, spray aircrafts. They have also supported us in terms of surveillance aircrafts. We thank them so much for their support.”
3 APRIL 2020, KIFUKU FARM, LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA
23. Various shots, farmer George Dodds walking on farmland
24. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dodds, Farmer:
“I think unfortunately because of other things going around the world, people are forgetting about the problem with the locusts. But it’s a very very real problem. We’ve seen it first hand, we didn’t believe it ourselves. We thought the first time they came they didn’t eat anything, so we though it’s fine. We are gonna be okay. And we’ve seen first hand. You know our community, the small-scale farmers, it’s a very big problem. For food security in Kenya especially after problem like coronavirus. How are we gonna feed Kenya? All of our produces is for local consumption. I think everyone needs to take it seriously and support every way you can because it’s a very big problem, for Kenya as a whole.”
31 MARCH 2020, OLDONYIRO, ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA
25. Wide a motorbike driving through flying desert locusts swarm
26. Wide local people with their livestock
27. Wide woman and children, tilt down to desert locusts on tree in foreground
28. Wide desert locusts on wooden hut
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) is continuing efforts to contain the desert locust upsurge in East Africa despite restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Desert Locust upsurge continues to remain alarming, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where it poses an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods. In the six East African countries worst affected or at risk of locusts - Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania - around 20 million people are already experiencing acute food insecurity.
Widespread rainfall in March is expected to produce a dramatic increase in locust numbers in East Africa over the coming months, with new swarms expected to move from Kenya into South Sudan and Uganda.
Ambrose Ngetich is FAO’s project officer based in the Desert Locust control base in Isiolo county in the country. He said, “the locust infestation is happening in a very wide area, and you find every time you try to control in one region, there is a swarm that is happening in another region, it is not possible to control them simultaneously. Because most of the time they are at different stages, so it requires a lot of personnel and capacity to be able to undertake the control operation and also managing the surveillance in term of the ground team.”
Ngetich also said, “right now the rains are beginning, and if the farmers will not be able to grow their crops early enough, there will be challenge in terms of availability of food in the future given that the locusts infestation continue without being controlled, it is going to impact a lot on the availability of food.”
George Dodds, a farmer in Laikipia county in Kenya said, “you know our community, the small-scale farmers, it’s a very big problem. For food security in Kenya especially after problem like coronavirus. How are we gonna feed Kenya? All of our produces is for local consumption. I think everyone needs to take it seriously and support every way you can because it’s a very big problem, for Kenya as a whole.”
Restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment imposed by COVID-19 have created challenges but FAO is continuing to work with national governments, farmers and agricultural producers on containing the outbreak.
Ngetich said, “when we want to load the aeroplane early in the morning, there are also restrictions of timing and also locating the swarms because of the curfew. However, we are trying to come up with innovative ways like reducing the number of population that are being met at once for the training, as well as also engaging the security officers so that they can allow a small extension of time for the locusts scout as well as the operation team.”
Stanley Kipkoech Arap Talle, Senior Official of Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya that FAO has have given supports “in terms of training personnel who are supposed to do the ground surveillance. They have also supported us in terms of pesticide – procurement of the pesticide. They have supported us with the hiring of the aircrafts. They have hired three aircrafts for us, spray aircrafts. They have also supported us in terms of surveillance aircrafts. We thank them so much for their support.”
In Kenya, FAO is training farmers to use motorized sprayers to contain the spread of desert locusts.
FAO is augmenting national efforts by providing support for surveillance as well as aerial and ground spraying being conducted in 10 affected countries.
So far over one million hectares of land in East Africa have been surveyed for locusts and over than 240,000 hectares treated with chemical pesticides or biopesticides and 740 people have been trained to conduct ground locust control operations.
But COVID-19 has had an impact on the supply of motorized sprayers and pesticides. Supply of pesticides has been delayed as global air freight has been reduced significantly.
FAO is working to prevent a breakdown in pesticide stock in each country.
As COVID-19 restricts the movement of personnel in the field, FAO is intensifying remote data collection and the network of partners, civil society, extension workers and grassroot organizations is critical for providing information from remote locations especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
FAO is encouraging all countries to use eLocust3, a rugged handheld tablet and app, which records and transmits data in real time via satellite to national locust centres and to the Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) based at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Since 2015, more than 450 of these handheld devices have been distributed to teams in northern Africa, the Near East and southwest Asia, allowing the transfer of real-time data from jeeps in the middle of the desert directly to the national locust office and to FAO’s headquarters. More recently, FAO has developed a version of eLocust3 that can be used on mobile phones and a GPS device in order to broaden usage and coverage.
The Desert Locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a single swarm covering one square kilometer contains up to 80 million locusts. FAO estimates the number of locusts could increase another 20 times during the upcoming rainy season unless control activities are stepped up.
The current situation represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods that could lead to further suffering, displacement and potential tensions.
FAO recently scaled up its Desert Locust appeal to $153 million and so far around $111 million has been pledged or received.
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