Locust Emergency
For thousands of years, plagues of desert locust have been a threat to agricultural production in Africa and western Asia.
Swarms of the migratory insect can devastate crops as they fly in great numbers in search of food. Desert locusts are normally solitary, scattered insects but when climatic conditions are favorable, for example after good rains and a mild temperature, they can rapidly increase in number.
A Desert Locust adult can consume roughly its own weight in fresh food per day. A tiny fraction of an average swarm of locusts eats the same amount of food in one day as about 2,500 people.
Locust inflicted damage is geographically patchy and sporadic. Where the swarms of locusts do not land, losses do not occur. Where the swarms land and feed, crop loss can be 100% within hours.
Since last year, favorable ecological conditions and regular rainfalls in particular have allowed for a more rapid reproduction of locusts throughout Sahelian West Africa. To date, approximately 3.5 million hectares are at risk in the Sahel from the locust invasion.
In October, the swarms of desert locusts began moving north from the Sahel to winter breeding grounds in North Africa. New control efforts may be required in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya in the coming months, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). However, large swarms remain in the Sahel and control operations have intensified with regional and international donations of additional aircraft, pesticides, and equipment. Current control efforts are focused on protecting crops and pastureland. Throughout the affected countries in the region, more than 350,000 ha were treated in the first half of October, according to FAO.
USAID has developed a three step approach to combat the locusts currently affecting more than 3.5 million hectares in the Sahel: crop and pasture protection, swarm reduction, and capacity strengthening. This strategy was developed following analysis of the situation on the ground and in coordination with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministries of Agriculture in the affected countries.
To date, USAID has committed more than $8 million to support locust control efforts throughout the Sahel. Members of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART), comprised of Locust Emergency Officers, remain in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Senegal to coordinate locust control efforts.
