The Department of Agriculture in Kajiado county has reported the emergence of the destructive variegated grasshopper.
Governor Joseph Lenku said on Friday a number of the insect had been spotted in Kajiado East, West and Central subcounties and have already started to harm crops and pasture.
“I have directed that mitigation plans be immediately commenced not only for the destructive variegated grasshoppers but also for the desert locusts, whose damage has already been experienced in Northern Kenya,” the governor said in a statement to media houses.
The threat of desert locust, Lenku said, is real and his government, on the advice of pest experts, is setting up a disaster preparedness plan against the desert locusts and the variegated grasshoppers.
“These pests are a threat to our food security and must be managed in a manner that eradicates or reduces their negative impact on our farms and grasslands,” the governor said.
Lenku directed the Agriculture department to urgently form a joint coordination team to spearhead the response plan.
He said the county coordination team should liaise with the inter-county coordination committees of neighbouring Narok, Makueni, Machakos, Kitui and Taita Taveta counties against the threat of the desert locust.
“The county coordination team to invite other relevant stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to partner against the threat of the above migratory pests," read the statement.
Lenku directed the county coordination team to make a formal request to the Plant Protection Department for pesticides, pesticide protective equipment and other civic education materials.
“The county Treasury should also make emergency plans to avail the necessary resources to kick-start monitoring and convening of sensitisation forums to farmers on the pest," he wrote
Lenku urged residents to be alert and report any sightings.
Edited by R.Wamochie