FAO: Desert locusts are ravaging East Africa, threatening to spread to more countries.

Release Date:

2020-02-05

Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated that swarms of desert locusts could spread to more countries in Africa, threatening the livelihoods of even more people.

In December 2019, these swarms first appeared and have since devastated tens of thousands of hectares of farmland in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, marking the worst locust outbreak in 70 years and exacerbating the food security crisis in these countries.

Bukar Tijani, Assistant Director-General of the FAO’s Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, said: “The outbreak could spread further and pose a threat to other countries, particularly South Sudan, Uganda, and Eritrea. At present, swarms have already appeared in Eritrea, and some swarms have also been observed in Oman and Yemen.”

Reportedly, even before the locust invasion, countries in East Africa—including Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya—had already been mired in severe food insecurity due to poverty, conflict, and a range of natural and man-made disasters. Approximately 11 million people were already facing food insecurity, and the swarms are set to further exacerbate the situation.

Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, stated during a visit to Samburu and Kitui counties—two of Kenya’s 15 affected regions—“We must do everything possible to prevent the situation from worsening further. We know these locusts not only cause severe damage to crops but also inflict substantial harm on grazing lands, ultimately threatening the livelihoods of pastoral communities. At present, the only effective solution is aerial pesticide spraying.”

At present, countries such as Kenya, with the support of the United Nations and other international organizations, have secured funding to carry out aerial pesticide spraying. However, in most parts of Somalia, conflict and instability have prevented aircraft from conducting effective spraying—a measure the Food and Agriculture Organization deems “the ideal control strategy.” The Somali Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has declared the locust invasion a national emergency.

The FAO warns that, if locusts in East Africa are not brought under control promptly, the outbreak could persist until June this year, at which point its scale could swell to 500 times its current size—posing unpredictable consequences for conflict-affected countries like Somalia.