This archive report was first published on 15 May 2020.
Kenya's pastoralists are facing a desperate struggle to feed their families as the country's worst locust invasion in 70 years continues to ravage the land.
For Tiampati Leletit, a 32-year-old Samburu herdsman, the devastation is all too real. His herd of 80 goats has been reduced to just four, and he is struggling to make ends meet.
'I have never seen anything like this,' he says. 'When the swarms of locust invaded, they consumed everything and all the vegetation was gone. The livestock had nothing to eat.'
Leletit is not alone in his struggles. The locust invasion has left millions of people in the region severely food insecure, with the World Bank warning that regional locust swarms could swell current numbers 400-fold by June, causing livestock-related costs and damages of $8.5bn by the end of 2020.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is racing to stop the locusts breeding, but the task is complex and challenging. 'The generation we are combating now is the most damaging in terms of food security impact,' says Cyril Ferrand, the FAO's resilience team leader for east Africa.
As the locusts continue to ravage the land, pastoralists are facing a desperate struggle to feed their families. 'There will be an increase in resource-based conflict,' warns Josephine Ekiru, a Turkana pastoralist and peace-builder for the Northern Rangelands Trust. 'People will be moving towards areas where there will be grass. We need to prepare for conflict.'
Efforts to control the locusts are ongoing, but the task is daunting. 'It's mind-boggling how these locusts can be so destructive,' says Ambrose Ng'etich, who is managing FAO control operations for the vast areas of Samburu, Isiolo, Laikipia and Meru. 'It gives you shivers.'
The World Bank has distributed $13.7m in emergency funding to the Kenyan government to help tackle the swarms, and the FAO confirms that another $118m has been pledged to help with control efforts. But appeals for support like cash transfers for those facing food shortages next month are only 54% funded.
