Addis Ababa - Swarms of locusts have invaded north-west Ethiopia, posing a serious threat to crops there and putting the region, as well as the entire Horn of Africa, at risk of further food insecurity, officials said on Monday. "Some groups of locusts, most probably coming from Sudan have flown into different localities in Tigray and Amhara," said Fikre Markos, the head of the crop protection department at Ethiopia's agriculture ministry. "This is worrying considering that these locusts have been troubling the whole of western Africa for several months and they are now extending towards the east," Odiyo said. Most troubling, he said, was the potential for the locusts to lay eggs thereby increasing their possible devastation by reproducing and placing both human and livestock food stocks at risk. Last year, huge swarms invaded the countries of the Sahel in north-west Africa causing extensive damage in the worst locust upsurge in 15 years.

Source: Ethiopian News September 13, 2017 04:18 UTC