Large swarms of locusts are continuing to sweep through East Africa, “putting crop production, food security and millions of lives at risk”, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported.
With the swarms having reached Tanzania and Uganda, the FAO said: “We do have a chance to nip this problem in the bud, but that’s not what we’re doing at the moment. We’re running out of time.”
According to reports Tanzania has detected swarms in its northern border areas close to Mount Kilimanjaro and has hired planes to spray pesticide, “a tactic seen as the most effective means of countering the spread of the insects”, the FAO said.
Ugandan authorities have started using sprayers in the hope of protecting crops in the region.
The FAO recently launched a $76-million appeal to control the locusts. They said that if nothing was done, the swarms would continue to spread and would wreak havoc across Africa.
Reports suggest that heavy rains, aided by a powerful cyclone off Somalia in December last year, are contributing to the crisis. The locusts arrived from the Arabian Peninsula after cyclones dumped vast amounts of rain in the deserts of Oman, creating perfect breeding conditions, according to the FAO. – Zoë van Rooyen
