Locusts in Kenya 'too old to be a threat'

The locust invasion in Kenya is under control because the voracious pests are at the end of their lives, the country's Agriculture Minister Peter Munya has said.

"The locusts have turned yellow in colour which means they are old and nearing the end of their lives so they don't have the energy to destroy the food. They are now looking for places to lay their eggs, that's why they have perched on trees with little movement."

He added that they were preparing to deal with "the second generation", adding that "once the eggs hatch we are ready", he said while addressing the public in Swahili.

Mr Munya said that intensified aerial spraying of pesticides had managed to stall the outbreak which had spread to 12 of Kenya's 47 countries.

Last week a top official from UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) told the BBC that Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia could be on the verge of a food crisis if huge swarms of locusts devouring crops and pasture are not brought under control.

Mr Munya said that the country now had the "right chemicals" to fight the locusts. He said the invasion was "not going out of hand at all".

The minister added that the country was now dealing with the aftermath of the invasion and that no new swarms had been spotted in the northern regions from where they entered.

Mr Munya took up his current post after his successor was fired. Mwangi Kiunjuri had been mocked when he urged Kenyans, in a bid to manage public concern, to share pictures of locusts on social media to help the government identify the insects.

The locusts are thought to have spread from Yemen three months ago.