By Yeneneh Sisay – Naivasha, Kenya – Desert locust and other cross-border crop pests are threatening the efforts of East African countries to ensure their food security, expert says.
Kenneth Mwange, works at IGAD Climate Prediction and Implementation Center, ICPAC, which monitors breeding sites of locusts and other crop pests and provides early warning information to member countries. He says the situation will get worse if precautions are not taken.
He says the coming months will be a good time for the emergence of desert locusts and the proliferation of mosquitoes that attack crops. Two years ago, locusts caused great damage to crops in northern Ethiopia and other areas. “Countries need to pay more attention and cooperate,” says Kenneth Mwange, head of sustainable transboundary pests and other crop management at ICPAC’s Center for Weather Forecasting and Implementation.
He urges member countries to take all the prevention activities to avoid the negative impacts of desert locusts on food security of the sub-region. Mr Muange said: “Our area is very good conditions not only for desert locust and also for other pests so what we prepared for future events… We are looking at early warning in short team and long-term climate change projection in IGAD region.”
East African countries are currently facing severe floods and droughts, he said: “if we do not understand the conditions in which desert locusts and other cross-border insect pests are hatched and work together to prevent them, the damage will be compounded and worse.”
It was in 1986 that Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda form the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) to reduce impacts of droughts and other natural disasters.
In 2003 the Heads of State and Governments IGAD held their 10th Summit in Kampala, Uganda, where the Drought Monitoring Center-Nairobi (DCMN) was adopted as a specialized IGAD institution. The the Drought Monitoring Center-Nairobi changes its name to IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC)
In 2014 ICPAC becomes a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Climate Centre (RCC) of excellence in the provision of climate services to national and regional users of Eastern Africa. In january 2020 ICPAC moves it’s offices to Ngong.