The locust devastation across East Africa: Fighting a crisis within in a crisis
There is no doubt that the effect of the pandemic is hitting hard on the food markets and food supply chain in Africa and the world.
But the incidence of locust is another major concern that could make things worse for food security in Africa and the world.
At the moment, food prices have doubled and in some cases tripled. The market men and women will tell you stories of how the supply chain has thinned so they have to increase prices to break even and there are two things causing this.
East Africa is facing one of the most devastating cases of Locust infestation ever and here’s what you should know about it.
Locusts are a species of grasshoppers that are solitary and pose little threat as a single insect, but when certain conditions cause them to form a swarm they can become highly devastating and dangerous to farmers and their crops.
A swarm could contain as much as over 100 million locusts, cover a distance of over 100km in a single day, destroy hundreds of hectares of crops and eat the same amount of food meant for about 90000 people in a single day.
It all started last year when small swarms started gathering in Ethiopia and Somalia to form larger swarms. It then became a full-blown infestation that ravaged through some East African countries with Kenya and Ethiopia taking the biggest blow.
Farmers in Kenya are reporting that in some places, the swarms form a cloud so thick that they could hardly see through the sky.
Although preventive measures are being put in place but the affected countries, they still need a lot of help. The FAO says it needs over $80 million in donations to help the affected countries fight the infestation.
Latest report by the FAO says that the swarms have spread to other east african countries and also some other Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The problem of Food security in Africa is not limited to just individual countries, it is a continental problem. That’s why it is important for the infestation to be controlled as soon as possible.
At the moment, Food security in Africa is not only being affected by the effects of the pandemic, but the locust infestation is also hitting hard on the food supply.
The silver lining is that farmers and other bodies like the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology are coming up with ways to drive the numbers down, control the infestation and mitigate the risks of food shortages in Africa.
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