Barely a day after Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Agriculture Peter Munya settled in his new office, the CS on Wednesday trained his guns towards the locust menace that has bedevilled some parts of the country.
While speaking to the press at his office, CS Munya announced a raft of measures initiated by his ministry that will see locusts headache sent to the history books
Munya announced that additional spray aircraft will swing into action on Thursday to the affected areas to ensure the invasion is contained.
“We are deploying 3 more spray aircrafts tomorrow to the locust infested areas chemicals have already been sourced. We are also deploying 4 additional aircraft for surveillance & distribute additional 20,000 litres of pesticide,” said Munya.
The commitment comes in the wake of tension among farmers in the North-Eastern region, some parts of Meru and Kirinyaga counties brought about by a swarm of locust that invaded some farms.
CS Munya also noted that the earlier move to spray the insects had proved effective adding that though the pesticide took time, the insects succumbed in the long run.
The locusts had invaded parts of the Meru-Isiolo border and consumed any green plant it came across.
The swarms reportedly settled in Ndumuru (Igembe North), Ntangilia and Mula in Tigania East area, thus posing a threat to farmers crops.
Northern Rangeland Trust, Lewa Conservancy and private firms formed a joint team to fight the menace in Meru, Tharaka-Nithi, Isiolo, Laikipia and Samburu counties.
The locust invasion is one of the many tasks that face CS Munya as he settles in office.
His predecessor, Kiunjuri, had come under rabid criticism after he failed to address farmers woes in the North Rift region after alleged cartels imported maize and sold it to NCPB leaving farmers with no market for their produce.
President Uhuru in 2018 scolded him publicly, during an agricultural show in Jamuhuri in Nairobi, for buying imported maize at the expense of the common farmers.
During his acceptance speech, Kiunjuri said the sacking had not come as surprise to him adding that he had been relieved since he had persevered a lot of humiliation.
