There are dozens of swarms in Kenya alone. As the swarms reached Kenya this month, the UN appealed for $70m to pay for, among other things, the aerial spraying of insecticide in east Africa. The last big locust crisis, in north-west Africa, lasted from 2003 to 2005 and caused an estimated $2.5bn worth of damage to harvests. “Donors are interested in funding big emergencies, big problems.” And governments, unlike locusts, move slowly. That seems all the more reason to invest in tracking and control measures, and to make sure that action is taken quickly.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 30, 2020 16:30 UTC