Aerial spraying to beat back a plague of locusts swarming across Kenya will cost $70 million, the UN estimates. Millions of the insects have invaded the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia, devouring farmland and just about anything else in their path. The locust outbreak is the worst in 70 years for Kenya.
“Even cows are wondering what is happening,” Ndunda Makanga, a local farmer told the Associated Press. “Corn, sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.”
The scourge has been exacerbated by climate change, which has brought rising temperatures and more rain to the region.
The price tag for the spraying comes from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, which leads international efforts to fight hunger.
A single swarm up to 150 million insects -- can consume enough food to feed 35,000 people.
Kenya has four planes now flying to spread pesticides but needs more spraying equipment as well as more chemicals, the nation’s agriculture officials said.
The insects are now heading toward South Sudan and Uganda, which is already on alert.
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