Fight Against Desert Locusts Goes Digital

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The County Government of Laikipia has put up measures to curb the spread of desert locusts within the parts of the county that have been heavily affected by the migrating swarms through adoption of a mobile phone App.
The App, E-locust 3m, helps in easier location of locusts and calls for quick response in order for officers to take appropriate action. When using the app, the users are able to give a description and type of the locusts in an area and also describe the area they have covered.
The app is user-friendly hence can be used by anyone easily. Once an area has been affected it has to be treated.
Aerial spray is the most effective one as it easily covers a large area of swamps. In areas with animals and a human life we prefer motorized vehicles to avoid the chemicals from causing harm, confirms Virginia Nyaguthii,County Director Amaya Triangle Initiative.
To achieve this, the government has trained 200 people to help in the control measures. The 200 are drawn from wards level who creates a link to the officers at the county level, including the County Commissioner and the Assistant County Commissioner.
To coordinate and discuss the preparation of the whole country to avert invasion of the desert locust, the ministry of Agriculture held a meeting on February 8 at Villa Rosa Kempinski attended by National locust team and other stakeholders. The meeting was attended by cabinet secretary Agriculture Peter Munya accompanied by principal secretary Hamadi Boga.
The agenda was to place more significant measures to curb the spread of locust and strategize on how local community will be directly involved in the fight.
County Executive Committee Members for Agriculture in the affected counties were tasked with liaising with communities and steering the efforts within the counties.
The ministry of Agriculture is working closely with Food Agriculture Organization. In Laikipia, the ward administrators and agricultural extension officers have also been equipped with the requisite knowledge to help fight the menace.
The youth are also part of the training program as they can assist in the war against these desert giants. The National Youth Service also plays part in the fight against the locust by using backpack pump sprayers. Fifty NYS personnel already been deployed to the county. Farmers are the worst hit when locusts invade a region.
Laikipia county government has dedicated efforts to eliminate the swarms, owing to the large numbers of farmers and pastoralists in the county. The most affected areas include Ilgwesi, Ole Naishu, Leshau, Sosian, Salama that have been treated.
Citizens need to cooperate with the government to give out information or even signs of them then the government will act fast.

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