During the past couple of weeks it has sometimes seemed to
me that here in America we have mostly been riveted to either the impeachment trials or the
super bowl and little else.
One of these hopefully will soon come to an end soon, with predictably one half of the nation happy about the outcome and, in our new Divided States of America, one half angry about it.
One of these hopefully will soon come to an end soon, with predictably one half of the nation happy about the outcome and, in our new Divided States of America, one half angry about it.
The other event took place last evening on Sunday, I suppose
with one half of football fans happy about it and the other half not happy, but
hopefully not angry.
But while our TV’s have been burning the images of those two
events into our visual receivers and brains, other things have been happening
in the world—important things. For those concerned about human life, very important
things.
For the past couple of weeks I have been reading about what
may be a looming food crisis in Kenya. If you have been following the Kisii
Reports of the past, you know that for the past couple of years, Kenya has been
suffering cycles of unusually heavy rains (as is occurring right now), which
then moves to drought. This has made all food prices rise significantly.
But now, a new and potentially much worse problem is on the horizon. It is literally on the horizon right now in the eastern part of the country. Instead of telling you about it, I will just quote clippings from a couple of newspapers. Photos of images from the internet browser, and one from a Kenyan newspaper online edition:
Before getting to the newspaper articles, I would like to remind you that at the orphanage, they receive NO help from the government, NONE from the UN or other international government organizations, NOTHING from any Christian mission organization or any other NGO.
Their ONLY outside help comes from readers of this blog. It you want to help, read the articles or at least scroll to the bottom and read how you can do that.
EVERY NICKLE of you gift goes to the children. NOTHING is diverted to another purpose.
*******The Guardian (UK)—January 17, 2020
Their ONLY outside help comes from readers of this blog. It you want to help, read the articles or at least scroll to the bottom and read how you can do that.
EVERY NICKLE of you gift goes to the children. NOTHING is diverted to another purpose.
*******The Guardian (UK)—January 17, 2020
The UN has warned of a “significant and extremely dangerous”
escalation in the number of desert locusts descending on Kenya, as the
government strives to contain the threat before it reaches the country’s
food-producing regions.
The tropical grasshoppers have been wreaking havoc on Kenya’s neighbours to the north and east, devouring tens of thousands of hectares of crops in Ethiopia and Somalia since last June.
Swarms crossed over into north-east Kenya on 28 December. In a statement released on Monday, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicted that their “potential spread” could include the breadbasket counties of central Kenya.

Each square kilometre of locusts in a swarm can eat as much
in a day as 35,000 people can eat, according to the FAO. One locust swarm seen in Kenya
measured 2,400 sq km. (100 hectare in a square kilometer)
“There is an unprecedented threat to food security and
livelihoods” across the Horn of Africa, the FAO said.
Kenya’s newly appointed agriculture minister, Peter Munya,
announced on Wednesday that the government has allocated nearly $300,000
(£229,000) to fight the threat. As the swarms in Kenya haven’t yet reached
maturity, Mwangi is optimistic about cutting off the worst threat – mature
locusts laying eggs and giving rise to even larger swarms in a few weeks when
they hatch.
He said the swarms were another blow to farmers already
reeling from natural disasters last year.

And the threat is not over yet. Swarms have laid eggs in
northern Somalia that are now hatching and may migrate again, in even larger
numbers, according to Abdurahman Hussein Ismail, a migratory pests expert and
director of the Somaliland environmental and agricultural protection institute.
“Locusts are highly mobile and destructive,” he said, adding
that they can travel up to 150 km per day. “The situation is very, very serious.”
********Daily Mail (UK)—February 1, 2020
********Daily Mail (UK)—February 1, 2020
Shocking pictures show the scale of the worst outbreak of
desert locusts in Kenya in 70 years as hundreds of millions of the insects
leave helpless farmer heartbroken.
The creatures have invaded the East African country from
Somalia
and Ethiopia, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.
and Ethiopia, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.
Ndunda Makanga, who spent hours Friday trying to chase the
locusts from his farm, said: 'Even cows are wondering what is happening. Corn,
sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.'
When rains arrive in March and bring new vegetation across
much of the region, the numbers of the fast-breeding locusts could grow 500
times before drier weather in June curbs their spread, the United Nations says.
'We must act immediately,' said David Phiri of the UN Food
and Agricultural Organization, as donors huddled in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, a
three-hour drive away.
About $54million is needed to step up aerial pesticide
spraying, the only effective way to combat them, the UN says.
That will not be easy, especially in Somalia, where parts of
the country are in the grip of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group.
The rose-coloured locusts turn whole trees pink, clinging to
branches before taking off in clouds. Children have been seen waving blankets or plucking at branches to shake the locusts free.
branches before taking off in clouds. Children have been seen waving blankets or plucking at branches to shake the locusts free.
Even a small swarm of the insects can consume enough food
for 35,000 people in a single day, said Jens Laerke of the UN humanitarian
office in Geneva.
Farmers are afraid to let their cattle out for grazing and
their crops of millet, sorghum and maize are vulnerable, but there is little
they can do.
About 70,000 hectares - 172,973 acres - of land in Kenya are
already infested.
**********The Standard (Kenya)—February 3, 2020
already infested.
'This one, ai! This is huge,' said Kipkoech Tale, a
migratory pest control specialist with the agriculture ministry.
A single swarm can contain up to 150million locusts per
square kilometer of farmland, an area the size of almost 250 football fields,
regional authorities say.
One especially large swarm in northeastern Kenya measured 37
miles long by 25 miles wide.
The locusts are moving steadily toward Ethiopia's Rift
Valley, the breadbasket for Africa's second-most populous country, the UN says.
Even before this outbreak, nearly 20million people faced
high levels of food insecurity across the East African region long challenged
by periodic droughts and floods.
**********The Standard (Kenya)—February 3, 2020
Armed with a sizable piece of iron sheet and a stick, Julius
Maluki moves from one corner of his farm to another hitting a plate incessantly
and producing ear-piercing noise that can be heard from across his farm.
The farmer, who has grown maize and cow peas, shouts himself
hoarse while stomping his feet hard on the ground.
As he does this, a small swarm of desert locusts, part of
thousands upon thousands that invaded his farm at Enziu village and several
other parts of Mwingi region fly just above his head and perch in nearby trees.
The bulk of the insects is unmoved.
Maluki hopes the noise, coupled with his other gymnastics,
will scare the ravenous insects away. However, from all indications, his
efforts are a desperate exercise in futility.
“We have resorted to using rudimentary methods to chase the
locusts away, but they have proven stubborn. I can only watch as they consume
my crops away,” says Maluki, his face showing clear signs of giving up.
That was last week. Today, Maluki says the insects have
rendered him destitute, having decimated the cowpeas and green grams on his
three-acre farm.
Maluki had expected to harvest at least 20 90-kilogramme
bags of cow peas, but the unwelcome visitors have left him counting losses.
Esther Kyalo, a farmer from the neighbouring Nguni area, is
in a similar predicament. Her lush crop of green grams was reduced to ugly
strands as the locusts devoured all the leaves.
“I was looking forward to a bumper harvest of 15
90-kilogramme bags of green grams but now there is nothing left. Does it mean
the government has no capacity to contain this menace?” she asked.
A kilogramme of green grams goes for between Sh50 and Sh70
in local markets.
In Mutwangombe, within the same neighbourhood, Theophilus
Kimanzi, who grows millet and green grams, is also counting losses. The locusts
descended on his farm and in two days, decimated every strand of millet and
green grams.
“I depend on farming for my livelihood. I even borrowed
money to buy those seeds. Now I don’t know what to do because all the crop has
been destroyed,” Kimanzi lamented.
“We are tired of screaming and hollering in farms to make
noise. The three aerial spraying conducted so far have had zero results. We
want the government to come up with a better and more effective measure to kill
the locusts,” he added.
According to farmers, the pests have become bolder, fiercer
and more organised in their invasion and terror. Within one week, they
terrorised farmers in many other parts of Mwingi region.
“The aerial spraying did not work. They are not dying and
the government should come up with a more effective drug. The damage on crops
is unimaginable,” said Martha Ngumbau from Mathiakani area of Mwingi Central.
********************************************
If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to "The Log Church" and write "Orphans" on the memo line.
The highlight of this ugly spectacle was last Sunday evening
when a cloud of locusts kicked off their flight from Waita, and in their
millions overflew Mwingi town and in record time pitched camp in Migwani market
– some 35km away - much to the chagrin of local farmers.
The following morning, they descended on farms within Kyamboo
and Thokoa villages pulverising the farms and scaring school-going children.

The farmers now want the government to compensate them for
their losses.
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has
made a preliminary appeal of Sh7 billion ($70 million) to facilitate the fights
against desert locusts that have ravaged 13 counties.
“More reliable figures on this will be available in the
coming days. Already some 3.1 million people in Kenya are projected to be
highly food insecure between August and October 2019,” said Hamisi.
It was only on January 14 that Agriculture Cabinet Secretary
Peter Munya said the Government had injected Sh230 million to support the fight
against the swarms, which by then had affected eight counties. He did not
disclose how much had been used in the past.
The Principal Secretary State Department for Crop Development
and Agricultural Research said that 20,000 litres of chemicals had so far been
used in the fight.
“The ministry will not do the estimation of the losses;
there will be another agency to do that. At the moment, we are concerned with
locating the swarms and spraying them,” he said.
Hamadi said despite the challenges that also include high
cost of purchasing pesticides, the fight against the destructive swarms would
continue to prevent further losses that may lead to food insecurity in the
country.
Hamadi said many challenges were watering down efforts to
contain the locusts. The expected changes include the blow of wind to drive the
swarms out of the country and end of persistent rains that grant the locusts a
fertile ground for breeding.
The PS blamed laxity in Somalia, where locusts were coming
from, and unreliability of the ongoing aerial spraying. The country has since
declared the invasion an emergency.
Hamadi said aerial spraying that was currently being used
was faced with many challenges that limited its efficiency.
“The effectiveness of the spraying depends on how it is
executed. Many things can go wrong. You must know the direction the wind is
blowing and the height the plane flies also affects the spraying. If the pilot
is afraid of flying low enough, then it is bound to miss the target,” said
Hamadi.
Questions have also arisen on safety of the chemicals being
used in spraying the pests.
The National Climate Change Secretariat and the East Africa
Climate Change Network (EACCNET) had advocated alternative method of fighting
the swarms over fear of environmental hazards.
“The pesticides are safe just like other pesticides use in
agriculture,” PS Hamadi said as he dismissed claims that the pesticides were
posing health risks to people and animals.
********************************************
If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to "The Log Church" and write "Orphans" on the memo line.
Send it to:
The Log Church
PO Box 68
Tripoli, Wisconsin 54564
Every nickel given in this way will be used for only aid for the orphans. It will be used for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose
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