Ethiopia: Desert locusts

Since June, above average rainfall in many parts of Ethiopia has encouraged vegetation growth, providing favourable ecological conditions for desert locust breeding. Across 56 woredas (districts), the swarms have developed into hopper bands that are consuming between 8,700 (2) to 1,755,000 (3) metric tons of green vegetation – pastures, cropland, trees – per day. Current response efforts are focused on swarm control and preventative methods, such as aerial sprays. Despite international and national interventions, as of 5 November the infestation is not under control. The presence of locusts in the crop-producing regions of Somali, Amhara, Tigray, Oromia are expected to severely hamper food security and livestock productivity.