2 September 2021, Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya - A National Youth Service officer wearing FAO protective gear stands while waiting to spray during a training on desert locust control at Kenya's National Youth Service Training College in Gilgil, Kenya on September 2, 2021.
NYS Sergeant Brian Odhiambo played a key role during the locust control operations as the team leader of 200 NYS officers who spent months in the ground fighting the locusts outbreaks through ground spraying and other activities related with the control operations project. Sergeant Odhiambo has been selected as one of the "food heroes" of the year.
The National Youth Service -NYS- is an organisation under the Government of Kenya with the purpose of training and mentoring Kenya's youth through regimentation, national building programs and technical and vocational training. National Youth Service officers were trained on desert locust control as part of the Desert Locust control operations project in the Horn of Africa to combat the outbreaks and prevent the impact of widespread crop and pasture losses, on food security and protect rural livelihoods.
Every year on World Food Day FAO highlights the work by diverse "food heroes" around the globe who in various roles in the food chain help keep their communities fed and hunger at bay. This year, FAO wishes to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of the nations of East Africa in rising to the challenged posed by the largest invasion of desert locusts to hit the region in living memory.
Photo credit must be given: ©FAO/Luis Tato