Coordination and Early Warning Preparedness

Since desert locusts invaded Kenya in December 2019, coordination of control efforts has been done from the Plant protection services division of the Ministry of Agriculture. The country was not adequately prepared to handle an invasion of such magnitude. Therefore, the special Locust Control Unit (LCU) formed due to the current invasion needs to be strengthened for the purpose of handling information from field activities and effective communication with all players for rapid response. Efficient support to field survey, monitoring and control activities requires the adoption of a preventative approach which can benefit from early warning information generated through forecasting techniques. Such information will be used to put in place the required early warning system and control materials.