Locusts now threatening parts of southern Africa, UN says The United Nations says locusts are threatening another part of Africa, with up to 7 million people in the southern region facing further food insecurityJOHANNESBURG -- Locusts are threatening another part of Africa, with up to 7 million people in the southern region facing further food insecurity, the United Nations said Friday. The outbreaks of African migratory locusts in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are not related to the huge outbreak of billions of desert locusts that has affected East Africa for months, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said. While far smaller, the southern outbreaks need quick attention to prevent a wider problem as farmers and others already struggle to recover from a serious drought last year and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. agency said in a statement. Swarms of the voracious insects “can eat enough food for 2,500 people in a day,” according to a separate Food and Agriculture Organization document on the southern Africa outbreaks. “Some of the worst-affected areas are very difficult to reach,” FAO southern Africa coordinator Patrice Talla said.

Source: ABC News September 04, 2020 10:00 UTC