Desert locusts have now invaded Nyeri making it the 19th county in the country to be invaded.
The swarms of locusts crossed over to Nyeri county from neighboring Kirinyaga County and caused panic among area farmers.
A section of members of parliament now want president Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the locust menace a national disaster.
Speaking at parliamentary buildings, led by Tharaka MP George Gitonga the MPs said that locusts have razzed a large percent of crops across the country a scenario which might lead to hunger to not only Wananchi but animals.
“This is the right time to act, government and president will have this declared national disaster, soon we will be in drought,” Gitonga said
“Let the government come out strongly as regards what measures it is going to do to eradicate this calamity, we call for immediate action once this has been declared,” Gitonga added
On Wednesday, the county government of Kirinyaga assured farmers that it is well prepared to deal with the menace.
Through the Deputy Governor, Peter Ndambiri, the county said it has a surveillance team on the ground which is monitoring the swarming trends of the destructive insects.
“We have in store chemicals to use should need to arise to clear these locusts but since they only landed in a few areas of the county we will use aerial means to destroy them or just use manual sprays, “Ndambiri said
The legislators also urged neighboring countries especially Uganda and Tanzania to brace themselves in a bid to avert a regional crisis in the East African region.
“If these countries will not be careful, there will be a regional disaster in a few coming weeks, and there will hunger,” Gitonga said
