DFID helps fight African locust plague
The Department for International Development has responded to a UN plea for assistance in preparing to fend off a plague of locusts threatening to sweep north Africa.
DFID yesterday promised £1.5 million to the cause, following an appeal from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Large locust swarms have bee developing in Mauritania, Senegal and Mali, and the British money will be used to help control the insects for the next three months.
International Development Minister Gareth Thomas explained, “These larger than normal locust swarms pose an immediate threat to harvests in the Sahel region and could cause long term damage to the livelihoods of many farmers.
“We have agreed an immediate contribution of £1.5m and we will continue to monitor developments closely.”
Large scale locust swarms develop roughly every 20 years. The FAO launched its appeal in relation to Mauritania in February, but the swarms have spread and are already threatening crops in Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, with emerging swarms in Niger, Mali, Chad and Senegal.
Locust control is carried out by aerial delivery of pesticides, but the geography of the Sahel region, where the locusts are breeding, makes spraying difficult and costly.
The FAO has so far managed to raise around $17 million US.
