Kenya facing 'unprecedented threat' from swarms of locusts
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says the region is suffering its worst invasion for decades.
Kenya says it is facing an "unprecedented threat" from desert locusts in its worst invasion for 70 years.
Swarms of the insects have spread from Ethiopia and Somalia and are threatening food production and grazing land, said Kenya's agriculture minister, Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Swarms of the insects have spread from Ethiopia and Somalia and are threatening food production and grazing land, said Kenya's agriculture minister, Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Because much of Somalia is engulfed in conflict, spraying pesticides from the air has become impossible, the agency added.
There is a risk that the swarms could move into Kenya's neighbours Uganda and South Sudan, the FAO said.
The locusts crossed into Kenya a few days after Christmas and have spread to the counties of Garissa, Isiolo and Samburu to the south and west, Mr Kiunjuri said.
The FAO said that while locusts are expected to breed in Somalia this month, there is less chance of that happening in Kenya.
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