DL Control Measures

Control of DL invasions will be undertaken to minimize economic damage and secure livelihoods of communities in affected areas. The best practices for effective desert locust control will be deployed with guidance from MITT and LCC. Teams involved in the control operations will be trained accordingly. Some of the critical areas where the training will lay emphasis include responsible use of pesticides, appropriate use of personal protection equipment and disposal of associated wastes. Effective communication between the national and county levels of Government and relevant stakeholders will be embraced. In addition, community engagement will be enhanced during the control operations to minimize associated risks. An inventory of pesticides stocks and conditions of equipment will be kept at LCC. DL control operations will be undertaken under the following sub-activities;

i. Preparations for control operations

Since the swarming adult locusts are gregarious and highly damaging, conventional pesticides will be procured in advance to enable quick control action. The choice of conventional pesticides to be procured will be based on the mode of action. Priority will be given to products with contact mode of action and those which are non-persistent in the environment. The formulation to be adopted will be dependent on the method of application. The Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) and Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC) formulations will be for DL control. The choice of pesticide product to be used will be based on the approved list by PCPB. Biopesticides will be acquired for the control of the hopper stage of the locust, based on the approved list from PCPB. The best practices when using pesticides for controlling all stages of the locust will be followed as per the IPMP. The necessary pesticides will be procured centrally at PPS Division and strategic stocks distributed to the respective control bases. Procurement of all pesticides will be in accordance with the laid down government procurement guidelines. Restocking of pesticides will be done when necessary. Appropriate stock management will be observed to exercise the principle of First in, First out (FIFO).

ii. Pesticides

iii. Equipment

Assorted equipment will be procured and/or hired and deployed in readiness for locust control operations. This equipment will include vehicle-mounted sprayers, hand-held ULV sprayers, Knapsack sprayers, motorized sprayers, suitable vehicles and spray aircrafts. In addition, personal protective gear composed of overalls, hand gloves, face shields, nose masks, helmets and gum boots will be procured to enhance safety of control operators. These equipment will be procured centrally at PPSD and distributed to the respective control bases in readiness for control operations. In preparation for aerial spraying, airstrips close to the control sites will be assessed for their appropriateness.

iv. Personnel

Teams composed of agricultural extension officers, locust scouts, administration officers, spray service providers, pilots, security officers, GIS experts, environmentalist, health care providers and scientists will be constituted for identified locust control bases. Consultative forums will be created between the national and county governments and their respective technical departments/teams to enhance preparedness for control operations. Local communities in affected and potential spray areas will be sensitized on intended actions and be guided on safety precautions to take as part of their participation in the desert locust control program.

v. Conduct and coordination of control operations

The constituted trained teams will undertake the locust control operations. The ground teams will be stationed at the established 8 control bases. The core responsibilities of ground teams will be to monitor the movement and development of the locust and to conduct appropriate control operations. In addition, they will transmit communication on locust matters to the Base Managers. The manager of each control base will be responsible for relying on timely communication on desert locust matters to the county governments and the LCC. Further the manager will maintain updated records of pesticides stocks and equipment which would be used to facilitate quick and effective execution of control operations from the specific base. The amount of the centrally procured pesticides and equipment to be deployed to specific locust control bases will be guided by the information from surveillance activities. The choice of the type of pesticide and equipment to be deployed will be determined by the stage of the locust, vastness of the area to be sprayed and terrain of the infested areas. Best practices for the desert Locust control operations will be followed. Timely control operations will be executed targeting the breeding sites to control the hopper bands. In addition, adult locust swarms will be controlled whenever they are sighted. The spraying operation will be undertaken either early in the morning and/or late in the evening.

To achieve an effective aerial spraying operation, the team will ensure the following;

GPS coordinates of the spray site are obtained in advance
Necessary pesticide and aviation fuel loading pumps are brought to the loading site
There is water supply at the loading site
Aircraft is loaded with fuel and pesticides
Aircraft spray system is well calibrated
The pilot and crew are dressed appropriately with PPE
Ascertain the airstrip is in good condition with working lighting systems
An aircraft engineer is at the site
Cleaning of spray system after the spray operation is undertaken
Security persons are at the site to guard the aircraft when parked at the airstrip

Ground spraying operations will be undertaken either by use of vehicle-mounted sprayers or knapsack/hand held ULV sprayers. To ensure effective spraying is undertaken using vehicle-mounted sprayers, the choice of vehicle for use will be based on ability to service vehicle, availability of adequate space to mount the sprayer and suitability of vehicle to move in rough terrain. The motorized sprayer and knapsack sprayer will be well calibrated to avoid wastage of pesticides. Additional batteries will be available at the control site to facilitate the hand held sprayers run effectively for a long period. All persons undertaking ground spraying will dress up in appropriate personal protective gear. The spraying equipment will be thoroughly washed, dried and stored after the operations. All empty pesticide containers and other associated wastes will be disposed of according to the stipulated guidelines. Spraying operations will not be undertaken during the hottest times of the day and periods characterized by very strong winds and rainfall. Safety precautions will be observed during all control operations to minimize negative impact to human health, livestock, wildlife, water bodies and the environment. Risk analysis will be conducted and mitigation measures deployed to minimize negative effects.

vi. Evaluating effectiveness of locust control operations

Preliminary assessment of locust population per unit area in the potential spray site will be undertaken by the officer in charge of control operation. The spraying operation will then be executed. The Post spray assessment will be undertaken to determine the number of dead locust per unit area. The difference in numbers of live and dead locust per unit area will be used to approximate the percentage (%) killed. Other parameters that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the control operations will include but not limited to:

The toxicological classification of pest control products used.
The dose rate of application (amount dispensed within a unit area)
The cost of pesticide amount to be applied per unit area
The ease or practicability of conducting the control operation
Knock down duration

Risk posed to none targets and the environment

vii. Assessing the effects of control measures on human, livestock and wildlife health

The procedures followed and actions taken by the managers, distributors, transporters, store keepers and spray service providers involved in desert locust control operations will be monitored and rated on a predetermined scale of performance in handling pesticides. The monitoring will include, but not limited to the following: attention paid to instructions on use of pesticides, basic safety guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment, fundamental sanitation practices, and handling of accidental spills of chemicals, leakages, or faulty spraying equipment. The names and active ingredients, WHO classification of the products, quantities handled and exposure circumstances will also be recorded. This will inform the likely sources of ill-effects of control measures.

Personnel involved in DL control operations will be checked regularly by appointed medical practitioners for any unusual symptoms that might be attributable to direct contact with control products and equipment. The examination will involve the following among others: reactions due to direct skin contact or indirect skin contact through clothing contamination, irritation of eyes and reaction of the respiratory system. Blood samples of desert locust control operators will be taken and analyzed for any contamination by active ingredients of the products that are applied in control operations. The data generated from health checks will inform the actions to take to prevent any deterioration in the health of the personnel.

Observations will be made and sampling/analysis done by identified veterinarians on various wild animals and livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys) that are reared in areas targeted for application of desert locust control products in the project counties to determine any effects that might be attributed to the control operations. Assessments on human and livestock health status will be carried out prior to project inception and post-application of the desert control measures. The assessment will be staggered to take into consideration acute toxicity (occurs within a few days of exposure), sub-chronic toxicity (intermediate period of 1 to 3 months) and chronic toxicity (longer than 3 months).

viii. Assessing the effects of control measures on environment

The side effects to the environment from the wide usage of pesticides in desert locust control operations will be assessed through examination of the effect on non-target arthropods, birds, lizards, aquatic life, vegetation, soil fauna, micro-flora etc. Expertise in this area will be engaged to develop assessment protocols and approaches.