Swarms of locusts have destroyed large areas of farmland and are threatening food security in East Africa.
Kenya is reporting its worst locust outbreak in 70 years. Billions of the insects have already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of plant life across the country.
Record locust outbreaks have also been reported in Ethiopia and Somalia. The insects have also attacked parts of Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, is calling it East Africa’s worst desert locust invasion in 25 years.
In Somalia, the government declared a national emergency because of locusts. It said the outbreak was presenting a “major threat” to the already weakened food security situation.
Airplanes have been releasing chemical pesticides to control the locust population. But officials have said they have limited money and equipment to fight the insects in affected areas.
UN officials have said they are worried that the swarms could spread to Uganda and South Sudan. They estimate that $76 million is needed now to widen efforts aimed at preventing further spread across East Africa.
The desert locusts – which grow to be about as long as a person’s finger - produce young very quickly. They fly in large groups in search of food.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, an East African group, reports that locust swarms can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometer. It noted that “the swarms migrate with the wind and can cover 100 to 150 kilometers in a day.”
An average swarm could destroy the same number of food crops in a day as could feed 2,500 people, the group added.
UN officials have warned that if the extreme outbreaks are not controlled, the number of locusts could grow 500 times by June.
Last December, Somalia suffered a locust outbreak that destroyed about 100,000 hectares of farmland. Government officials have warned that a second invasion will be even more destructive.
The current outbreaks followed one of the wettest years on record in East Africa. Heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures help the locust population grow.
Officials from the FAO say that even before the locust invasions, about 11 million people were experiencing food insecurity in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.
“Therefore, we need to make all possible efforts to avoid such a deterioration,” said FAO official Dominique Burgeon. He spoke to a Reuters news agency reporter after visiting two affected areas in Kenya.
In Somalia, conflict and instability issues have made pesticide spraying operations difficult, the FAO noted in December. In northern Kenya, five planes were releasing chemicals to fight the outbreak, The Associated Press reported.
Marcus Dunn is a pilot and the director of Farmland Aviation, a company which uses airplanes to drop pesticides and fertilizer on farmland. He told The AP the five planes should be enough to look over this part of northern Kenya for now.
However, he said if the locust problem increases in other parts of the country, “we are going to need some more assistance, because we just don’t know how big this problem is going to be.”
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and VOA News. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
swarm – n. a large group of things, usually insects, moving together
outbreak – n. a sudden or violent increase in activity; a rise in disease infection rates
pesticide – n. a chemical used to kill insects
migrate – v. to move from place to place
deterioration – n. the process of becoming progressively worse
instability – n. a lack of security
Makundi ya nzige yameharibu maeneo makubwa ya mashamba na yanatishia usalama wa chakula katika Afrika Mashariki. Kenya imeripoti janga kubwa zaidi la nzige katika miaka 70 Mabilioni ya wadudu hao tayari wameharibu maelfu ya ekari za mimea kotekote nchini. Mlipuko mkubwa zaidi wa nzige umeripotiwa pia nchini Ethiopia na Somalia. Wadudu hao pia wameshambulia sehemu za Sudan, Djibouti na Eritrea. Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Chakula na Kilimo (FAO) limesema kuwa ni tukio la kwanza la kuambukizwa kwa nzige katika jangwa la Afrika Mashariki katika miaka 25 iliyopita. Katika Somalia, serikali ilitangaza hali ya dharura ya kitaifa kwa sababu ya nzige. Ilisema mlipuko huo ulikuwa unawasilisha "tisho kubwa" kwa hali ya usalama wa chakula ambayo tayari imedhoofika. Ndege zimekuwa zikitokeza dawa za kuua wadudu ili kudhibiti idadi ya nzige. Hata hivyo, maafisa wanasema wana fedha na vifaa vichache vya kupambana na wadudu hao katika maeneo yaliyoathiriwa. Wananchi wa Uganda wameogopa kuwa kundi hilo la ndege linaweza kuenea hadi Uganda na Sudan Kusini. Wanasema dola milioni 76 zinahitajika sasa kupanua juhudi za kuzuia kuenea zaidi katika Afrika Mashariki. Mdudu anayeitwa desert locust - ambaye hukua na kuwa mrefu kama kidole cha mtu - huzaa watoto haraka sana. Wao huruka katika vikundi vikubwa wakitafuta chakula. Shirika la Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) linasema kuwa idadi ya nzige katika eneo la Afrika Mashariki inaweza kufikia milioni 150 kwa kila kilomita ya mraba. "Kama ilivyoelezwa, ""mafuriko hayo yanahamia pamoja na upepo na yanaweza kufikia umbali wa kilomita 100 hadi 150 kwa siku,"" na ""mafuriko hayo yanaweza kuharibu idadi sawa ya mazao ya chakula kwa siku ambayo yanaweza kulisha watu 2,500.""" "Maafisa wa Umoja wa Mataifa wameonya kwamba ikiwa milipuko hiyo ya mkali haitaondolewa, idadi ya nzige inaweza kuongezeka mara 500 kufikia Juni.""" Mnamo Desemba mwaka jana, Somalia ilipatwa na janga la nzige ambalo liliharibu hekta 100,000 za mashamba. Maafisa wa serikali wameonya kwamba uvamizi wa pili utakuwa wenye uharibifu zaidi. Mlipuko wa sasa ulifuata mojawapo ya miaka yenye mvua nyingi zaidi ambayo imerekodiwa katika Afrika Mashariki. Mvua nyingi na joto la juu husaidia idadi ya nzige kuongezeka. Wanasayansi wa FAO wanasema kuwa kabla ya kuenea kwa nzige, watu milioni 11 walikuwa wanakabiliwa na ukosefu wa chakula nchini Ethiopia, Somalia na Kenya. "Kwa hiyo, tunahitaji kufanya juhudi zote zinazowezekana ili kuepuka uharibifu kama huo", alisema afisa wa FAO Dominique Burgeon. Aliwasiliana na mwandishi wa habari wa shirika la habari la Reuters baada ya kutembelea maeneo mawili yaliyoathiriwa nchini Kenya. Katika Somalia, migogoro na matatizo ya ukosefu wa utulivu yamefanya shughuli za kunyunyizia dawa za kuua wadudu kuwa ngumu, FAO ilibainisha Desemba. Katika eneo la kaskazini mwa Kenya, ndege tano zilikuwa zikitumia kemikali kupambana na mlipuko huo, shirika la habari la The Associated Press liliripoti. Marcus Dunn ni rubani na mkurugenzi wa Farmland Aviation, kampuni ambayo hutumia ndege kutupa dawa za kuua wadudu na mbolea kwenye mashamba. "Amesema ndege hizo tano zitakuwa za kutosha kutazama sehemu hii ya kaskazini mwa Kenya kwa sasa.""" Hata hivyo, alisema ikiwa tatizo la nzige litaongezeka katika sehemu nyingine za nchi, tutahitaji msaada zaidi, kwa sababu hatujui ni kubwa kadiri gani tatizo hili litakuwa. Brian Lynn aliandika hadithi hii kwa VOA Learning English, kulingana na ripoti kutoka The Associated Press, Reuters na VOA News. George Grow ndiye aliyekuwa mhariri. Tunataka kusikia kutoka kwako. Tuandikie katika sehemu ya Maoni, na kutembelea ukurasa wetu wa Facebook. "Kuna ""swarm"" - kundi kubwa la vitu, kwa kawaida wadudu, kusonga pamoja, ""outbreak"" - ongezeko la ghafla au la vurugu katika shughuli; ongezeko la viwango vya maambukizi ya magonjwa, ""pesticide"" - kemikali inayotumiwa kuua wadudu, ""migrate"" - ""kuhama kutoka mahali hadi mahali, ""mwendo wa kuharibika,"" ""mchakato wa kuwa mbaya zaidi, ""ha"" - ""ukosefu wa usalama."""