Climate – Mazingira Yetu

INVEST IN LOCUST EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

Sam Dindi — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 05:32:57 +0000

INVEST IN LOCUST EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

By Nyawira Gitaka

While the entire world is fighting a pandemic, in East Africa we are fighting a plague as well. For the past few months desert locusts have invaded the Horn of Africa and are causing destruction of unprecedented proportion. This is said to be the worst invasion in decades with the desert locusts now already spotted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Desert locusts or, scientifically, Schistocerca gregaria are solitary insects that under the right conditions transform into aggressive feeders indiscriminately attacking all greenery within their path, affecting both humans and animals.

When the alarm was raised by UN FAO in February 2019 on desert locust outbreaks in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, months before the swarms made their way through Ethiopia, that would have been the best time for East Africa to strengthen already existing responses to the credible threat jointly, which is something we completely failed to do.

The threats posed by desert locusts are substantial enough that in 1961 The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) was created to combat this after a devasting plague in the 1940s that caused a major drought. This then raises some questions, how did these destructive pests pass right through our defenses, what systems are and were in place to not only fight an invasion but prevent one?

It is worth noting that the locust invasion has largely been treated as an agricultural issue due to massive crop damage leading to food insecurity; but on closer examination, it is a multifaceted problem. First, the main contributor leading to the population surges being witnessed are changing weather patterns. The increased rainfall experienced along the Arabian Peninsula favored continuous unchecked breeding of desert locusts, in addition these pests are dependent on wind for migration. It is therefore a climate change issue.

Second, desert locusts being pests means that learning their ecology is vital so as to ensure the control measures utilized are not only effective but safe. It is considered the most significant and dangerous migratory pest in the world solely due to its ability to change not only its behavior but its physiology as well in response to environmental changes. This also important because its developmental stages exhibit different behavior patterns, with the most destructive phase being the hopper stage. This stage also happens to be the stage targeted for control before the adult stage after which control becomes very difficult.

Third and most important is that desert locusts are transboundary pests. This means the safety of a country is dependent not only on its immediate neighbors but far off countries as well, their ability to control or eliminate the menace before it spreads as well as information sharing across boundaries.

With these facts at hand, it is obvious that a one-dimensional approach against an 80 million insect strong swift and ferocious adversary is setting up for failure. This means that an early warning system should and must involve a number of experts so as to obtain information that is robust and can be relied on in making critical decisions. It is unfortunate that most early warning systems are highly disaster driven and abandoned in periods free of any disasters; this being a great example – yet if the economic losses and destruction were to be quantified

what exactly would an early warning system entail? In this case national meteorological services of member states can provide information on weather patterns that inform the migratory route, the entomological societies and ecologists should inform on the latest tools, safest chemicals and approaches of fighting the pests as well as the agricultural, forestry and conservation departments can provide satellite imagery that will help identify potential breeding sites and areas prone to invasions. In many cases, these experts work independent of each other which puts countries and the region as well in a very precarious position.

As much as The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) exists with countries as member states, it is important that each country has its own system as well localize the early warning system to areas prone to invasions and potential breeding sites. There should be continuous monitoring and surveillance as well as adequately trained personnel on the latest control operations in case of invasions. With localized monitoring and personnel responses come quicker and enhanced early pest control.

A key challenge has also been the communication about the plague to the public. With this being the worst invasion in decades a lot of farmers have never come across a desert locust and have little information about it. In one case a cabinet secretary requested for individuals to take photos of what they thought to be desert locusts and send them through social media for verification and identification. This then became a subject of ridicule on social media and the exercise yielded no results.

Why not have the experts all share information about the desert locusts in simple and effective language? With an early warning system adopted at a local, national and regional level against desert locust invasions, the approach can not only improve responses in case of an infestation but can also reduce the economic and physical destruction in case of an aggressive plague.

The set up of such a system calls for a lot of cooperation and collaboration across and along various lines to secure the region as this is the only sure way to protect against desert locusts in this era of climate change.

THE AFTERMATHS OF SIO RIVER BANKS BURSTINGS 2020.

Sam Dindi — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:32:56 +0000

THE AFTERMATHS OF SIO RIVER BANKS BURSTINGS 2020.

By Caxton G Juma. Coordinator, Samia Ecosystems CBO)

River Sio bursting it's banks has tremendously affected the farming community living adjacent in various ways, more specifically agricultural, ecological, health and economical brackets. During the flooding most of the farmers crops fields were submerged under waters as the flooding came two months after
planting when the crops height was over the knees. The floods have stayed for 3 months. During which all crops beneath waters on the farms were destroyed. Due to the prolonged floods on farming fields, the soils was saturated with water and eventually the soils turned acidic, a condition that hardly supports terrestrial crops life.

This soils acidic conditions might require some intervention measures to reclaim the affected farming fields back to its normal crops production. There also has been acute soil erosion due to large volumes of surface runoff as saturated soils could not withstand heavy rains experienced during this unusual erratic
long rains against the usual long seasonal rains that used to benefit the farmers with high crops yields. This situation entirely have subjected farmers to massive crops destruction. The crops field yields are by no means any harvest for the farmers eventually there is much hunger now and, until next season of
planting probably during short rains towards end of the year.

Ecological effects of Sio River flood evidently have been adverse. Firstly, the top soils microorganisms which supports crop growth have been destroyed due to prolonged floods submerging the farming fields. The mongoose that have been feeding on snakes in the ecosystem have drown and much numbers killed because the wetlands was saturated with water for prolonged period. They have faced extinction because on the main landscape they only scavenge on poultry unlike in the wetlands they feed on snakes, birds, caged black snails and fish among others insects.

A lot of biodiversity in the wetlands have River banks bursting eg Bees among other been tremendously affected by the Sio insects. Birds like guinea fowl also hibernated due to prolonged floods as they normally nest on the ground of wetlands. Sio Siteko wetlands for the first time witnessed massive pollution by on-farm chemicals washed by surface runoff from the farming fields as the floods waters in the wetlands would smell and even change the colour to black and whoever stepped in would itch on body contact. There is Lake Victoria back flow along the mouth of Sio River for the first time in history of Samia Sub County and unlike the case of Budalangi along the mouth of River Nzoia that has been common. Subsequently, fish populations have been affected as fishing require deep lake unlike when fish catch was evident along the Sio River mouth which experience much silt deposits and pollution from on-farm chemicals.

Siltation is rampant due to sugar cane plantation that Busia Sugar Company has tried to establish on Sio Siteko wetlands on wetlands encroachment because had they observed community participation on the entry point they would not be encountering the losses.

URBAN AGRICULTURE-URBAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP; EXISTING CONSTRAINTS

Sam Dindi — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:34:55 +0000

URBAN AGRICULTURE-URBAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP; EXISTING CONSTRAINTS

By Grace Ndinda

In some aspects, urban and rural agriculture are alike. They both use the same instruments, indicators and partnership approaches. However, the difference comes in their environments and scales as the actors involved are different. For this reason, urban agriculture requires its own conceptual framework, which goes beyond the typologies. Unlike rural producers, not all urban producers are devoted exclusively to agriculture, many have add on jobs; this means the level of training and monitoring they require should have specific features tailored to deal with the urban environment. A plot with a variety of crops might have a more sustainable organic management system than an urban garden has, not using agrochemicals does not necessarily mean that the production is organic and conducting organic activities does not mean that they are
sustainable. For example, in the urban agricultural sector as currently in Havana, management and training concerning diseases and pests, soils and the value of the urban soil among other subjects are addressed and discussed generally in the same way as those of rural agriculture.

The current urban design does not favor cohesiveness between urban agriculture productive spaces and already constructed spaces. A design that takes in the relation of other components to the urban environment is imperative. In order to produce benefits on different scales e.g. neighborhoods, zones, municipality, city. The interests of urban farmers and those not directly associated with the production should be taken into consideration in a participatory manner. Research done has been insufficient, concerning the impact that the establishment and management of any of the different types of urban agriculture may have on a particular place within the city. In the case of Nairobi County, there is little information concerning the amount of toxic elements, their accumulation and their presence in for example leafy green vegetables cultivated along
riverbanks like the Nairobi River. It is clear that obtaining and storing water for urban agriculture and reusing water on different scales is not being given the attention required. Urban agriculture needs to enhanced, in terms of higher yields, trade mechanisms and management systems, and in terms of increasing the quality and efficiency of those mechanisms. A broader approach to the evaluation of cost-benefit of production in each of its different modes is needed.

On the other hand, if those who are involved in urban agriculture-technicians,decision makers, officials and all those who in some way participate in this complex environment are not taking into account the environment dimension of this activity or its relationship with other related components in the city, it will be impossible to ensure its real economic,social and environmental long-term sustainability by other means. Those involved directly with urban agriculture require more comprehensive training based on the city’s needs in general and not particularly from the agricultural point of view. The
environment as a subject should be the supporting component of this type of farming.