Beetle v killer cactus: Kenyan herders fight to stop a plant destroying their way of life

Imported bug offers a last hope against the invasive pricky pear cactus killing off grasslands and the animals that graze themIn single file, women brightly wrapped in colourful Samburu cloth come out of a small greenhouse. They carry buckets stuffed with the only weapon left in their fight against an enemy that threatens their very way of life.They are heading to a field that despite its attractive appearance hosts the invasive Opuntia stricta, a prickly pear cactus that is taking over large swathes of northern Kenya's rangelands, inhibiting grass growth in a landscape with poor rainfall. Continue reading...