7,000 TREES PLANTED IN KAHAWA GARRISON – Ministry of Defence – Kenya mod.go.ke - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mod.go.ke Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
THE STANDARD By
Jeckonia Otieno |
December 19th 2020 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Dr. Eston Mutitu (far right) shows officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the KEFRI Board of Directors equipment to be used for research in the newly built KEFRI insect quarantine and Research facility. [Emmanuel Mochoge, Standard]
Kenya has launched a Sh40 million insect quarantine facility hosted at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Kefri).
The research facility, the first in East and Central Africa and the second in Africa after South Africa, is a milestone for researchers.
The centre will help Kenya manage and control insects from other countries that come through border points.
Research published in the journal Science Direct in April this year noted that the fall armyworm has led to the loss of a third of all maize produced in Kenya.
Elmi says that the facility which has been certified by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS) can be used to quarantine insects for export as well.
As a start, KEFRI has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) to use the facility for study on this worm.
Due to its highly sensitive nature of the operation, the facility is an earmarked security area with elaborate security features. First, it is in an enclosed area with a heavy metallic door as the first entrance.