Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: October 29 (EI) – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned Ethiopia and its neighboring countries to maintain a “high state of vigilance” over potential food security danger posed by Desert Locust swarms.
“In the Central Region, control operations are in progress against groups of hoppers and adults in the Afar region of northeast Ethiopia and along the railway area near Dire Dawa in the east,” FAO said in a statement issued on Monday.
According to FAO, immature and mature swarms that formed from recent breeding during the summer are moving into new areas in the East African country with the possibility of further migration.
“Hoppers have fledged and the new adults are forming an increasing number of small immature and mature swarms, some of which have already moved to the Ogaden area in eastern Ethiopia’s Somali regional state,” according to FAO.
It also stressed that the increasing number of immature and mature Desert Locust swarms are “perhaps supplemented by other undetected swarms from northern Somalia.”
The increasing Desert Locust movement is also expected to continue during the remainder of October and into November on two fronts across Ethiopia and the region, in which the first Desert Locust swarm movement fronts is said to be heading towards the southeast and the Ogaden region that could also lead to an invasion of northeast Kenya.
The second front is said to be heading towards the northern part of Ethiopia, from Afar to Tigray regions, and the western lowlands and highlands of Eritrea, reaching the Red Sea coastal plains in Eritrea and adjacent southern coastal areas in Sudan.
“All affected-countries are urged to maintain a high state of vigilance, monitor the situation regularly by carrying out ground surveys, and undertake the necessary control operations whenever possible,” FAO said.
FAO, which operates through Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS), also stressed that it “will continue to monitor the situation closely and immediately inform affected countries of any significant developments.”
Last month, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture had also warned over the potential impact of Desert Locust summer breeding on the country’s agricultural production.
“There is a need to exert more efforts to combat the existing high probability of Desert Locust summer breeding, which spreads to parts of Ethiopia from its neighboring countries,” the state-run news agency quoted officials from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture as saying on Sunday.
According to Alemayehu Birhanu, Public Relations Director at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, the Desert Locust, which migrated from Somalia and Yemen, has been spotted across six major regions of the East African country.
Photo: Relifweb
