NAIROBI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The ministers of agriculture from the Horn of Africa region on Wednesday pledged better coordination to boost action on invasive pests like desert locusts which have worsened the hunger and malnutrition crisis.
Speaking at a forum in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, the ministers said that a harmonized approach to managing pests that devastate crops and livestock was paramount to avert the disruption of the livelihoods of nomads and subsistence farmers.
Convened by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, the Nairobi forum was attended by agriculture ministers, donor representatives, and experts, and adopted a raft of resolutions to strengthen the response to invasive pests and secure resilience for local communities.
Mithika Linturi, Kenya's cabinet secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, stressed that Horn of Africa nations should leverage partnership, early warning, research, and awareness to revitalize action on voracious pests that have undermined efforts to feed vulnerable populations.
According to Linturi, extreme weather events linked to climate change have escalated the spread of invasive pests in the region, leading to depressed crop yield.
"Small-holder farmers in particular have suffered due to pest attacks on their crops. We should intensify awareness, harness data and embark on integrated pest management to build communities' resilience," Linturi said.
The Horn of African states should invest in capacity building for subsistence farmers and nomads alongside the latest pest control technologies in their bid to attain food security, ecological health, and resilience for grassroots communities, said Guleid Artan, the director of the Nairobi-based IGAD's Climate Prediction and Applications Center.
According to Artan, the risk of desert locust invasion in the region remained high, given the likelihood of El Nino rains from October to December, hence the need for governments to reactivate surveillance and other pest control measures.
Carla Mucavi, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Kenya, noted that different species of invasive pests are thriving in the Horn of Africa region, fueled by climate change and habitat destruction, hence the need for cross-border interventions to limit their damage to crops and livestock.
Mucavi called for the adoption of agricultural systems that are drought and pest tolerant to attain food and nutrition security for the Horn of Africa population. ■
