THE STANDARD By
Fredrick Obura |
January 28th 2021 at 15:06:41 GMT +0300
Agriculture CS Peter Munya (PHOTO: FILE)
NAIROBI, KENYA: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is sounding an alarm over widespread locusts in the coming months, a development that should worry relevant authorities.
In a statement, the organisation says as conditions remain dry in some parts of southern and northern Ethiopia and north-central Kenya, the swarms are likely to spread out looking for favourable areas to mature and lay eggs if rains fall in the coming weeks.
“This would give rise to hopper bands during February and March. Intense aerial and ground control operations are in progress to reduce the current swarms so that the scale of the upcoming breeding may be lower.”
Desert Locust situation update - 26 January 2021
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Several immature swarms arrived on the Red Sea coast and Asir Mountains in southwest
Saudi Arabia during the past week. These swarms are likely to have originated from adjacent coastal and highland areas in northern
Yemen that cannot be accessed safely. Substantial control operations are in progress against early and mid-instar hopper groups and bands on the Red Sea coast in
Saudi Arabia from Jizan to Al Wajh. In
Yemen, scattered adults are present on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts that have not required control so far.
In the Horn of Africa, immature swarms continue to arrive and disperse throughout northern and central
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