06 Sep 2020

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that outbreak of African Migratory Locust (AML) is threatening food security and livelihoods of millions of people in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A news release from FAO says the organisation is working with SADC and the International Red Locust Control Organisation for Central and Southern Africa (IRLCO-CSA) to support governments of the affected countries.

It says around 7 million people in the four affected countries, who are still recovering from the impact of the 2019 drought and grappling with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could experience further food and nutrition insecurity.

“Even with control measures already taken, the locusts are still a threat. Some of the worst-affected areas are difficult to reach.

We need to support the four governments, SADC and partner organisations like IRLCO-CSA to control this pest and protect people’s livelihoods,” Patrice Talla, FAO sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa said during the launch of an emergency response effort

The release further states that locusts are among the most destructive pests in the world since one swarm can contain tens of millions of adults.

A single swarm can eat as much in one day as 2 500 people, demolishing crops and livestock pasture in a matter of hours.

“In Botswana, some smallholder farmers lost their entire crop at the start of the African Migratory Locust outbreak. As the next planting season approaches, the pest threatens the country’s breadbasket region of Pandamatenga, where most of the country’s sorghum staple is grown, unless control efforts are urgently stepped up,” states the release. ENDS