Even as governments in the region scramble resources to minimise the damage expected from a new wave of desert locust invasion, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) warns the surge may not be controlled by June.
While Uganda and the Desert Locust Control Organisation are reported to be working with Kenya on eliminating new swarms.
“In the coming months, desert locusts will continue breeding in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
While releasing a report on the locust control campaign in East Africa and Yemen, FAO’s Director-General Qu Dongyu, noted that the UN agency had continued its surveillance and control operations despite constraints such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the start of the desert locust surge over four months ago and the subsequent launch of FAO’s crisis appeal in January, FAO has mobilised a total of $130 million.
