Locusts Threaten East African Food Security

A sudden rise in locust swarms has devastated East African crops. (Wikimedia Commons)

A devastating locust plague has descended on East Africa, putting the already struggling region at risk of food insecurity, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia have thus far been the most heavily affected by the locusts. The FAO warns that “substantial breeding activity” is occurring in Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan as well, indicating that these countries may soon be at risk.

The plague consists of “desert locusts,” which are regarded by the World Meteorological Organization as the most dangerous of the twelve species of locusts, as they move swiftly and can destroy large swaths of cropland very quickly. Swarms travel between 100 to 150 kilometers in one day. The average swarm contains about 150 million locusts per square kilometer and the daily food intake of a swarm is equivalent to that of 2,500 people.

The FAO stated that the swarm poses an extreme threat to not only individuals’ livelihoods, but also to food supplies in the region. The locusts are fast approaching Ethiopia’s Rift Valley, which is regarded as the country’s bread basket.

Officials warn that current efforts to combat the locusts have been insufficient. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu warned that “This has become a situation of international dimensions that threatens the food security of the entire subregion... in view of the scale and urgency of the threat, additional financial backing from the international donor community is needed so they [authorities in the region] can access the tools and resources required to get the job done.”

The FAO has advocated the use of aerial control methods, while Qu warns that significant humanitarian assistance will also be necessary once the immediate danger posed by the locust plague passes. “Alongside pest control activities our response must include efforts to restore people’s livelihoods,” he said. “Communities in Eastern Africa have already been impacted by extended droughts, which have eroded their capacities to grow food and make a living. We need to help them get back on their feet, once the locusts are gone.”

According to WMO, the scale and severity of the locust crisis can be attributed to the unusually heavy rains seen in East Africa since October 2019. These rains have provided optimal conditions for the desert locusts to breed, as they lead to a growth of vegetation in normally arid terrain, which facilitates locust population growth.

Guleid Artan, director of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, said, “This has been a year of extremes and climate anomalies for East Africa, a region that hosts some of the most vulnerable populations of the world... Our climate is changing and it is already leading to hundreds of casualties and affecting the livelihoods of millions of people in our region.”

The WMO has warned that this unusually wet weather will likely continue as late as June, meaning that a further increase in the locust population is very likely. The FAO estimates that the population could grow by 500 times before weather conditions return to normal. A coordinated response by affected countries and international aid organizations will likely be crucial in attempting to contend with the worsening crisis.