Desert Locust in Horn of Africa and Yemen - Control Operations in Ethiopia Somali Region

A new generation of Desert Locust swarms is threatening agricultural and pastoral livelihoods and the food security of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen despite intense efforts to control the pest throughout 2020.

With international support and an unprecedented large-scale response campaign coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), more than 1.3 million hectares of locust infestations have been treated in ten countries since January. 

However, favourable weather conditions and widespread seasonal rains have caused extensive breeding in eastern Ethiopia and Somalia. This was worsened by Cyclone Gati which brought flooding to northern Somalia last month allowing locust infestations to increase further in the coming months. New locust swarms are already forming and threatening to re-invade northern Kenya and breeding is also underway on both sides of the Red Sea, posing a new threat to Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and Yemen.

FAO is assisting governments and other partners with surveillance and coordination, technical advice and the procurement of supplies and equipment but operations must be further scaled up to safeguard food production and prevent worsening food insecurity in the affected countries.

In Ethiopia the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working together with the Government to fight the desert locusts’ invasion in a country where the level of acute food insecurity is already high. 

Ethiopia has been battling locusts since June 2019, the presence of the ravenous pest in the country is due to cross-border movements and to prevailing conducive breeding conditions in the country. 

The combination of the destruction of crops together with economic hardships resulting from COVID-19 restrictions, and recent flooding, have exacerbated the conditions of millions of people.

A new generation of Desert Locust swarms is threatening agricultural and pastoral livelihoods and the food security of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen despite intense efforts to control the pest throughout 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said today (16 December 2020).

With international support and an unprecedented large-scale response campaign coordinated by FAO, more than 1.3 million hectares of locust infestations have been treated in ten countries since January. 

Control operations have prevented the loss of an estimated 2.7 million tonnes of cereal, worth nearly $800 million, in countries already hard hit by acute food insecurity and poverty. That is enough to feed 18 million people a year.

However, favourable weather conditions and widespread seasonal rains have caused extensive breeding in eastern Ethiopia and Somalia. This was worsened by Cyclone Gati which brought flooding to northern Somalia last month allowing locust infestations to increase further in the coming months. New locust swarms are already forming and threatening to re-invade northern Kenya and breeding is also underway on both sides of the Red Sea, posing a new threat to Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and Yemen.

FAO is assisting governments and other partners with surveillance and coordination, technical advice and the procurement of supplies and equipment but operations must be further scaled up to safeguard food production and prevent worsening food insecurity in the affected countries.

In Ethiopia the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working together with the Government to fight the desert locusts’ invasion in a country where the level of acute food insecurity is already high. 

Ethiopia has been battling locusts since June 2019, the presence of the ravenous pest in the country is due to cross-border movements and to prevailing conducive breeding conditions in the country. 

The combination of the destruction of crops together with economic hardships resulting from COVID-19 restrictions, and recent flooding, have exacerbated the conditions of millions of people. 

According to the latest projections by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), during the upcoming January to July 2021 period an estimated 12.9 million people are expected to be facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 – Crisis, or worse) in Ethiopia.

Foutumo Abi Dalmar, a farmer from the Somali Region, illustrates how both farmers and pastoralist livelihoods have been affected by desert locusts: “we couldn’t produce the number of bags of barley that we used to harvest from the field.” Foutumo hasn’t harvested enough for her children and her animals: “Now we have a problem in the family, what to give to the kids and to the animals because the remaining green leaves are not enough for them and there are no cereals for the kids.”

Fatouma Seid, FAO Representative in Ethiopia explains: “this is the third time that this area has been invaded.” The consequence, says Fatouma Seid, is that “the pastures is being eaten” and “the animals do not have enough feed for themselves”. The result, for families relying on milk to feed their children is that the “weakened animals that will not give enough milk” and “this will affect in turn the nutrition status of the children”. Fatouma Seid, concludes: “we are trying to prevent the negative impact on the family livelihood and the kids’ nutrition”.

FAO is working with the Agricultural Bureau of Jijiga to curb the spread of desert locusts through control operations. Abdulahi Aden Yusuf, deputy head of the Agricultural Bureau, says that the desert locusts invasion happened after a severe drought: “it occurred during the harvesting period and the community was extremely worried”. “However - adds Abdulahi Aden Yusu - in collaboration with the federal Ministry of Agriculture, our Bureau of Agriculture, FAO and the community in our region and country, we controlled the locust.”

In Ethiopia, through ground and aerial operation over 740,000 hectares of land have been treated since June 2019, 660,000 of them during 2020. Desert Locust swarms’ position is captured using FAO’s eLocust3, the data are sent back to FAO headquarters and informs the ability to monitor, predict and respond to global locust movements. That data stream coming from all the affected countries is critical for coordination and response.

Dominique Burgeon, FAO Director of Emergencies and Resilience illustrates the work done together with the Ethiopian government: “we have protected the crops of about ten million people, who therefor have enough food to feed themselves for one year and we have protected also the pasture of about three million pastoralists, who therefor depend on livestock for their livelihood”. Burgeon concludes by explaining why control operations are so crucial for Ethiopia: “this is important because this is taking place in a country where the level of acute food insecurity is already quite high.”

FAO is not only working with governments and partners on control operations. The Organization is taking action to safeguard and protect rural livelihoods by providing affected growers with farming packages, veterinary care and feed for vegetation-starved livestock, and cash for families who have lost their crops so that they can cope until their next harvest.

In the Horn of Africa and Yemen, over 200 000 households have already received livelihood assistance and that number is expected to increase. FAO will assist an additional 98 000 households in early 2021 and is appealing for continuous support, mainly through Humanitarian Response Plans.

LOCATIONS:  Various, please check shotlist 

DATE: Various, please check shotlist 

SOUND: Natural / English / Somali 

LENGHT: 05’06’’

SOURCE: FAO 

RESTRICTION: Please give on-screen credit to FAO

SHOTLIST

Turkana County, Kenya, June 2020

1. Desert Locust hopper bands on tree trunks

2. Wide shot of hoppers covering the trunks of several trees

3. Close up of hoppers roosting on a tree

4. Tobias Takavarasha, FAO representative in Kenya, walking with other people towards two airplanes and a helicopter 

5. Tobias Takavarasha and a group of people in masks talking nearby airplanes with FAO logos

Murkebin Hill, Raraiti, Samburu East Constituency, Samburu County, Kenya, 09 September 2020 

6. FAO airplane spraying desert locust swarms

Isiolo town, Isiolo county, Kenya, 3 April 2020

7. Wide an airplane spraying pesticide

Ma’rib Governorate, Hareeb Village, Yemen, July 2020 

8. Zoom in and pan left over a drying field infested with Desert Locust hopper bands

Tarim Governorate – Ar Rudud Village, Yemen, July 2020

9. Wide shot of a spraying vehicle in a field

Ma’rib Governorate, Hareeb Village, Yemen, July 2020 

10. Man wearing protective suit and spraying locusts

Garowe, Somalia, 5 February 2020

11. Hopper bands jumping through the stones 

12. Close-up of a hopper on a stone

The outskirts of Geerisa town, Lughaye district, Somaliland, 5 March 2020

13. Workers in protective gears spraying biopesticide

West Sinkat, Red Sea State, Sudan, December 2020

14. Locusts hopper bands in a field

Somali Region, Ethiopia, 12-17 November 2020

15. Desert locusts flying over a field

16. Farmer Foutumo Abi Dalmar assessing the damages made by locusts in her Sorghum field

17. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Foutumo Abi Dalmar, farmer: “It has caused a problem to our farm and now we couldn’t produce the number of bags of barley that we used to harvest from the field. Now we have a problem in the family, what to give to the kids and to the animals because the remaining green leaves are not enough for them and there are no cereals for the kids.”

18. Foutumo Abi Dalmar taking care of her goats

19. Close up on a goat face

20. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Foutumo Abi Dalmar, farmer: “The harvest that we have collected now will be just enough for a short period of time.”

21. Foutumo Abi Dalmar taking care of her children

22. Close up of a child face

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatouma Seid, FAO Representative in Ethiopia: “The community is very worried because this is the third time that this area has been invaded. And last year the same community has been invaded so they are very worried. For their crops and for their animals.”

24. Boy grazing cows amidst desert locusts

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatouma Seid, FAO Representative in Ethiopia: “When the locusts are invading this area the pasture is being eaten, which means the animals do not have enough feed for themselves. And the families are worried because it means that these animals are weakened animals that will not give enough milk for their children and for themselves and unfortunately the community here are relying a lot on milk as their food. This will affect in turn the nutrition status of the children. So, we are not just controlling the locust for the sake of controlling, we are trying to prevent the negative impact on the family livelihood and the kids’ nutrition.”

26. FAO airplane and helicopter on a take-off runaway

27. Pilot starting procedures for take-off

28. Close up on spraying equipment

29. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Abdulahi Aden Yusuf Deputy head of the Agricultural Bureau and Natural Resources Development of Jijiga, Somali Region: “(Desert locusts’ invasion) occurred during the harvesting period and the community was extremely worried that it will destroy their harvest subsequent a severe drought. However, in collaboration with the federal ministry of Agriculture, our Bureau of Agriculture, FAO and the community in our region and country, we controlled the locust.”

30. Dominique Burgeon walking in a field infested by desert locust with Cyril Ferrand FAO Resilience Team Leader, Sub-Regional Resilience Team for Eastern Africa.

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominique Burgeon, FAO Director of Emergencies and Resilience: “Since the beginning of the year we have been supporting the government, we have been contributing to the efforts lead by the government and what we see is that we have been treating over 660,000 hectares of land. And as a result, we have protected the crops of about ten million people, who therefor have enough food to feed themselves for one year and we have protected also the pasture of about three million pastoralists, who therefor depend on livestock for their livelihood. This is important because this is taking place in a country where the level of acute food insecurity is already quite high.”

32. FAO airplane spraying a field infested by desert locusts

33. Robert Aston, FAO expert monitoring fields infestation 

34. Close up on a eLocust tool

35. Arial shot of pastoralists grazing animals in Somali Region

ENDS

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