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Leion Sotik has lost everything. The farmer living in Garissa County, Kenya, still remembers what happened just over a year ago, just during harvest season. The invaders came – and destroyed everything on his corn plantation. “I am very desperate,” he told DW. “I expected a harvest to feed my family and take the children to school. Look at how my crops were destroyed. It’s all gone now.
The culprits are one of the oldest pests in the world and probably have their most famous reference in the Old Testament Book of Exodus: the locusts. In 2020, a plague of larvae swept across East Africa, devastating crops and pastures and increasing the level of human hunger and economic hardship in parts of the region. A year later, in early 2021, the United Nations warned that a second, and possibly even more deadly, reinvasion of locusts had already started.
Billions of locusts in East Africa
The first wave of pests appeared in late 2019, numbering in the hundreds of billions, multiplied by 20 per generation, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The second generation in March and April was in the trillions. A scourge that has spread like wildfire – until now.
“This is a continuation of the locust swarm of 2020. The adults have flown to various areas and lay eggs,” Frances Duncan, professor of animal, plant and environmental sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, told DW. . “If we have good rains like we are right now in most areas, the larvae will hatch and we get the second wave of the swarm.”
However, Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting specialist at FAO, remains optimistic. “I think it’s still a very dangerous situation. But it shouldn’t be any worse than last year. According to the weather forecast, the coming months are expected to be dry, reducing the locust reproduction rate.
Threatening food security
Kenya has been severely affected by the worst locust outbreak in 70 years. In Garissa, the insects plunged farmers into despair: the total yields of their farms in 2020 were destroyed in less than 24 hours.
Nur Fadhil remembers that they had no chance against the plague. “We tried to drive out the locusts, but our efforts were in vain. Locusts spent the night on our farms. When we woke up the next day they were still there. They had eaten everything on the farm. We have suffered massive losses, ”said Fadhil.
In an emergency, FAO is ready to respond, Cressman told DW in an interview. “We are constantly monitoring the locust situation, weather conditions and providing services to all countries in terms of early warning and forecasting so that they can be ready to respond. FAO financially supports control operations through pesticides, aircraft and sprayers.
Cressman stressed that the livelihoods of the people must be protected. “If a farmer has crops planted and his harvest is wiped out, and he doesn’t have the resources to buy new seeds to replant, FAO can help. For pastoralists, if there is not enough feed for the animals, FAO can provide feed. “
Breeding in Ethiopia and Somalia
Five countries have been particularly affected by African migratory locusts: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. As a result, over 35 million people suffer from food insecurity. FAO estimates that number could rise to 38.5 million if nothing is done to control the new infestation.
FAO warns that numerous immature swarms have already formed in eastern Ethiopia and central Somalia in December, now that they have reached northern Kenya. More swarms will arrive in January and spread throughout Ethiopia and Kenya.
“If the locust swarm is left unchecked, it can completely destroy the crop and wipe out animal feed. This poses a serious threat to food security in the region and can lead to human and social crises, ”said Amh Yeshewas Abay, head of the natural resources office in the southern Omo Hamer Woreda area of Ethiopia, in an interview. with DW. “We are working to eradicate locusts in northern Kenya and on the border with Somalia.”
Danger of conflict
In northern Somalia, swarms laid eggs in areas affected by Cyclone Gati. Heavy rains in the region have proven favorable to locusts, according to the UN. New immature swarms could start to form in early February. Adult groups and a few swarms appeared on the coasts of Sudan and Eritrea during December.
According to Daniel Lesego of the Kenya National Disaster Management Unit, locust plagues carry multiple risks apart from food insecurity. “If there is competition for pasture, space and water, then that risks triggering conflict, resource-based conflict, and that’s something we don’t want to see in Kenya.” , he told DW. “For us, it’s a national call. It is a national duty to which we respond and we are committed to ensuring that Desert Locusts in Kenya are eradicated to ensure that locusts do not pass through our neighbors.
Is East Africa ready?
1.3 million hectares of locust invasion have been treated in 10 countries since January last year to avert economic and agricultural disaster, according to the UN. Countries have prepared to use pesticides on the ground and in the air. It avoided the loss of around 2.7 million tonnes of grain.
“Countries have been alerted to this possibility for a few months. They prepared, mobilized their teams and took them to the field to do surveillance, identify locusts and carry out control operations on the ground, supported by air operations, ”Cressman said, adding that the objective now would be to treat as many swarms as possible. , “Before they spread, ripen and lay eggs for another generation of locusts.”
The Kenyan government has set aside 30 million dollars (24 million euros) to fight the second wave. Agriculture Minister Peter Munya told reporters Kenya was well equipped to tackle locust swarms and promised that in counties where crops and livestock have been lost, the government will step in to help distribute seeds, cereals, drinking water or fertilizers.
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