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Kenyan farmers are turning crop-eating locusts into sustainable animal feed The Bug Picture is working with communities in Kenya to harvest the insects and mill them, turning them into protein-rich animal feed and organic fertilizer for farms. Social Sharing Laura Stanford says the project helps farmers turn a profit with the very thing that killed their crops CBC Radio · Posted: Feb 23, 2021 5:26 PM ET | Last Updated: February 23 A man tries to chase away a swarm of desert locusts away from a farm, near the town of Rumuruti, Kenya. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)

The climate crisis is creating conditions which have lead to a surge in Africa’s voracious pests, writes Harry Cockburn

With Kenya undergoing its worst locust plague in 70 years, one company is empowering local communities to come up with sustainable solutions. Swarms of locusts flocked to Kenya in late 2019, after a bout of unusual weather patterns was exacerbated by climate change. The infestation soon spread eastwards, affecting Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia too. Locusts threaten the food security of millions of people, as they devour crops and leave serious agricultural damage in their wake. African regenerative agriculture company The Bug Picture is helping communities in Kenya turn the problem on its head...

A laboratory manager tests the nutritional value of desert locusts at the laboratory Spectralab in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Reuters/Baz Ratner Laikipia, Kenya: Kenya is battling some of the worst locust plagues in decades, but start-up The Bug Picture hopes to transform the pests into profits and bring “hope to the hopeless” whose crops and livelihoods are being destroyed by the insects. Unusual weather patterns exacerbated by climate change have created ideal conditions for surging locust numbers, which have destroyed crops and grazing grounds across East Africa and the Horn. Scientists s...