afrol News, 7 December - The month of December has brought in two threats to Kenya: bloody political crisis and the infestation of large swarms of locusts in the country's North-East district of Mandera.

The locusts are not only destroying crops, but they are also laying eggs. Kenya had not been stormed by such a huge number of locusts for many decades. The pests are believed to have migrated from the neighbouring Somalia.

Locusts are generally known for their ability to quickly destroy anything they found along their way - be they crops or leaves. The insects, that hatch their eggs within two weeks, eat more than the food of several thousand humans.

But Kenya's Agricultural Ministry would not allow the locusts to hatch their eggs and has since been combating them with chemical sprays.

The government has set aside Sh 28 million to avert food insecurity in the Mandera.

Naftali Mung'athia, the District Commissioner of Mandera, explained how locusts destroyed farms along the River Dauwa close to the Kenya-Ethiopia border.

It is reported that more than 200 families have had their crops ravaged by the locusts. Most people are worried that the locust may cause yet another shortages of pasture in the region. The area lost large number of livestock to drought last year.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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