Army choppers airlift 36000 litres of pesticides to Karamoja as new swarm of locusts is expected

UPDF choppers have started airlifting pesticides from Kampala to the Karamoja district of Amudat where the desert locusts landed from Kenya, the Nile Post has learnt.

According to the UPDF spokesperson, Brig. Richard Karemire,  air force choppers have already started airlifting supplies to Amudat in response to the locust invasion.

The Ministry of Agriculture is the leading agency in the fight against the locusts and according to their spokesperson, Charlotte Kemigisha so far two choppers full of pesticides and other items have already flown to Karamoja.

“The choppers are carrying pumps, pesticides and other gear to be used in the fight against locusts,”Kemigisha told the Nile Post.

“Two choppers have taken off for the region and will land at Moroto Barracks any time from now. They are carrying 36,000 litres of pesticides: chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin (18,000 litres of each).”

Kemigisha also revealed that other items airlifted to Karamoja include 2000 pumps, 500 knapsack sprays and 50 motorised spray pumps.

Speaking during the Tarehe Sita celebrations in Nakaseke last week, President Museveni said government will do everything possible to contain the locusts.

“On Wednesday we had a meeting and we are going to move decisively both on the ground and in the air in case they cross to Uganda. We are going to buy our own aircraft for future use,” Museveni said on Thursday.

Recently,  Stephen Byantwale, the commissioner for crop protection at Ministry of Agriculture recently said  Uganda has no aircraft and the ministry was working with the Desert Locust Control Organisation of East Africa (DLCO-EA), based in Nairobi, Kenya to provide aircraft.

Another swarm set to land

The development comes at a time when another swarm of the locusts is set to land in Uganda from Kenya.

According to Martin Owor, the Commissioner in charge of disaster preparedness in the Office of the Prime Minister, a much bigger swarm from deep inside Kenya has today landed at a place called Kiwawa which is three kilometres inside Kenya and they appear poised to enter Amudat or Moroto Districts anytime.

“There are no desert locusts in all other districts of Karamoja, Teso , Lango, Acholi and rest of the country are still free of desert locust as of 1.00pm today,” he said in a statement.

The other swarm that landed in Amudat district yesterday according to Owor, flew to Nabilatuk and Nakapiripit areas for a  distance of about 100kms inland and have today afternoon set-off flying backwards towards Amudat.

“There is a possibility they are trying to avoid Awoja Wetlands. The ground surveillance teams of the districts of Amudat, Moroto, Napak, Nabilatuk and other areas of the Karamoja Sub-region are closely monitoring the movement of the swarms,” he said.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the desert locust is considered to be one of the most dangerous of flying pests as its ability to fly long distances allows it to migrate quickly.

A swarm of one square kilometre can gather nearly 80 million locusts, each one devouring the equivalent of its own weight (2 grams) per day.

In a single day, a swarm of this size eats an amount of food equivalent to that of 35,000 people.

The desert locust is herbivorous and can stay in one place for 17 hours and if strong enough, can range 3000 miles in their lifetime and an average of 50-300km per day.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the locusts can live for up to five months, depending on weather and local conditions.

They can lay eggs that can hatch after two weeks, with locusts maturing to adulthood in two to four months on average.

They can destroy about 192 million kilogrammes of vegetation in two days.

Locusts can multiply 10-20 times per generation and an adult female will lay up to 900 eggs in three months.