Swarms of locusts enter Uganda after Kenya, Ethiopia; UN fears food security threat

Desert locusts have entered Uganda after destroying crops in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, confirmed a government minister on February 10. The Prime Minister of Uganda has called for an emergency meeting to address the pest invasion which could heavily affect the food supplies in the country. 

Earlier this month, Somalia declared a state of emergency due to the locust invasion and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation described the situation as worst in the last 25 years. FAO has warned that the rising numbers of Desert Locusts present an extremely alarming and unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa.

FAO said that the situation could worsen with new breeding that will produce more locust infestations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. "Locust swarms have started laying eggs and another generation of breeding will increase locust numbers. Urgent efforts must be made to stop them from increasing to protect the livelihoods of farmers and livestock holders," Keith Cressman, Senior Locust Forecasting Officer at FAO, said in a statement.

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$70 million required

The UN agency had said that it requires $70 million, of which they had mobilised $15.5 million till January 30, to support rapid control operations and measures to protect livelihoods and prevent deterioration of the food security situation. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu had warned that the locust upsurge threatens to provoke a humanitarian crisis. QU appealed for urgent funding to tackle the outbreak in order to protect livelihoods and food security and said that the needs will rise if the outbreak spreads to South Sudan and Uganda.

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The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF) has donated $1 million to the FAO to combat one of the most dangerous migratory pests. The ASTF arrived at the decision during a steering committee meeting at FAO headquarters in Rome on February 5. “We have a window of opportunity before the next planting season. We must act now. Flexible funding, like that of the ASTF, helps us move fast," said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO's Deputy Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources, in a statement.

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(With agency inputs)