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A state of emergency declared
in Pakistan to tackle the biggest locust attack in decades.
The unprecedented locust swarms now stretch from India all the way down to Kenya in East Africa
Blue
broken line showing the incredible number of countries suffering from
the locust plagues
2
February, 2020
A
state of emergency was declared in Pakistan to tackle the biggest
locust attack in decades. The insects are destroying crops in Punjab
province. The Punjab province in Pakistan is the main region for
agricultural production. Prime Minister Imran Khan approved a
National Action Plan (NAP) that requires a sum of Rs 7.3 billion to
overcome the crisis. Minister for National Food Security Khusro
Bakhtiar informed the National Assembly about the gravity of the
situation. Khan ordered the formation of a high-level committee to be
headed by Bakhtiar to take decisions at the federal level for the
elimination of insects. He has directed the authorities concerned to
take immediate measures on the basis of damage of ripened crops.
Southwest
Asia and the Red Sea area also affected
Numerous
desert locust swarms have been breeding in India, Iran and Pakistan
since June 2019. And some have migrated to southern Iran where recent
heavy rains have nurtured a breeding ground that could generate
swarms in the spring. Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen
are also seeing substantial breeding activity that could see locust
bands expand into swarms in the coming months, FAO added. The agency
concluded that it stands ready to leverage its expertise and
facilitate a coordinated response. UN
Ethiopia,
Kenya and Somalia are dealing with desert locust swarms of
“unprecedented size and destructive potential” that could spill
over into more countries in East Africa, the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday. Destroying hundreds
of thousands of acres of crops, the outbreak is impacting the
region’s food insecurity. The UN agency urged for a collective
campaign to deal with the crisis, concerned over the risk that the
swarms spill over into more countries in East Africa, “if efforts
to deal with the voracious pest are not scaled up across the region”.
South Sudan and Uganda are not currently affected but are at risk.
Shocking pictures show the scale of the worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya in 70 years as hundreds of millions of the insects leave helpless farmer heartbroken.
The creatures have invaded the East African country from Somalia and Ethiopia, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.
Ndunda Makanga, who spent hours Friday trying to chase the locusts from his farm, said: 'Even cows are wondering what is happening. Corn, sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.'
When rains arrive in March and bring new vegetation across much of the region, the numbers of the fast-breeding locusts could grow 500 times before drier weather in June curbs their spread, the United Nations says.
'We must act immediately,' said David Phiri of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, as donors huddled in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, a three-hour drive away.
About $54million is needed to step up aerial pesticide spraying, the only effective way to combat them, the UN says.
That will not be easy, especially in Somalia, where parts of the country are in the grip of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group.
The rose-coloured locusts turn whole trees pink, clinging to branches before taking off in clouds. Children have been seen waving blankets or plucking at branches to shake the locusts free.
One woman, Kanini Ndunda, batted at them with a shovel.
Even a small swarm of the insects can consume enough food for 35,000 people in a single day, said Jens Laerke of the UN humanitarian office in Geneva.
Farmers are afraid to let their cattle out for grazing and their crops of millet, sorghum and maize are vulnerable, but there is little they can do.
About 70,000 hectares - 172,973 acres - of land in Kenya are already infested.
'This one, ai! This is huge,' said Kipkoech Tale, a migratory pest control specialist with the agriculture ministry.
'I'm talking about over 20 swarms that we have sprayed. We still have more. And more are coming.'
A single swarm can contain up to 150million locusts per square kilometer of farmland, an area the size of almost 250 football fields, regional authorities say.
One especially large swarm in northeastern Kenya measured 37 miles long by 25 miles wide.
Kenya needs more spraying equipment to supplement the four planes now flying, Tale said. Ethiopia also has four.
They also need a steady supply of pesticides, said Francis Kitoo, deputy director of agriculture in southeastern Kenya's Kitui county.
'The locals are really scared because they can consume everything,' Kitoo said. 'I've never seen such a big number.'
The locusts eat the fodder for animals, a crucial source of livelihood for families who now worry how they will pay for expenses like school fees, he said.
'They will lay eggs and start another generation,' he said.
A changing climate has contributed to 'exceptional' breeding conditions, said Nairobi-based climate scientist Abubakr Salih Babiker.
Migrating with the wind, the locusts can cover up to 93 miles in a single day. They look like tiny aircraft lazily moving across the sky.
They are now heading towards Uganda and fragile South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. Uganda has not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and is already on alert.
The locusts also are moving steadily toward Ethiopia's Rift Valley, the breadbasket for Africa's second-most populous country, the UN says.
'The situation is very bad but farmers are fighting it in the traditional way,' said Buni Orissa, a resident of Ethiopia's Sidama region.
'The locusts love cabbage and beans. This may threaten the shaky food security in the region.'
Even before this outbreak, nearly 20million people faced high levels of food insecurity across the East African region long challenged by periodic droughts and floods.
As exasperated farmers look for more help in fighting one of history's most persistent pests, the FAO's Locust Watch offers little consolation.
'Although giant nets, flamethrowers, lasers and huge vacuums have been proposed in the past, these are not in use for locust control,' the U.N. agency says. 'People and birds often eat locusts but usually not enough to significantly reduce population levels over large areas.'
Still, it offered recipes. One suggested seasoning in Uganda is chopped onion and curry powder. Then fry.
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