Desert Locust Outbreak in Ethiopia “Worsens”

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned the ongoing outbreak of desert locust in Ethiopia has worsened and has called for greater on-the-ground action to control the infestation.

The food agency said a growing number of immature and mature swarms continue to ruin crops across the Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali regional areas.

Heavy rainfall in the Somali region has led to a drastic rise in the number of eggs hatching, forming hopper bands covering more than 351 km2, and consuming around 1.7 million MT of green vegetation every day. 

FAO’s representative in Ethiopia, Fatouma Seid, said “We need to act fast and mobilise the required resources urgently to scale up control and preventative measures.

So far, hopper bands have been controlled in only 21,000 hectares, out of 48,000 hectares surveyed between August and October 2019 in 56 breeding Woredas [districts]”.

She continued “Control measures have become difficult in areas affected by ongoing insecurity, particularly Dire Dawa city”.

The FAO have warned that if the outbreak is not brought under control as a matter of serious urgency, the locusts could spread into neighbouring Kenya, Eritrea and Sudan.