The Somalia government on Saturday declared a locust infestation as a national emergency, as insects devastate food supplies across east Africa, reported BBC.
Locusts are large herbivores that resemble grasshopper. The large swarms consume huge amounts of crops and forage. By mid-January, the locusts had destroyed more than 170,000 acres of vegetation. The emergency declaration has been made to focus efforts and raise funds to control the situation.
The Ministry of Agriculture said the insects posed a major threat to Somalia’s fragile food security situation and expressed fears that its invasion could affect the new planting season which begins in April in the country.
“Food sources for people and their livestock are at risk,” the ministry said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. “The desert swarms are uncommonly large and consume huge amounts of crops and forage.”
The government has called out for immediate measures to curb the escalating situation.
“It is vital to contain the pests with a rapid scale-up in control operations while protecting and supporting the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists,” the statement added.
Minister of Agriculture Said Hussein Iid said considering the severity of the locust outbreak, the government must need to take urgent measures to protect the food security and livelihoods of Somali people. He warned that an upcoming second wave will be even more destructive.
“If we don’t act now, we risk a severe food crisis that we cannot afford,” Lid said.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the swarms are the largest in Somalia and Ethiopia in 25 years.
East Africa is already experiencing a high degree of food insecurity, with more than 19 million people facing acute hunger, according to the regional Food Security and Nutrition Working Group.
Last month, the Somali government and international partners appealed for more than $1 billion for humanitarian support to 3 million Somalis this year. The aid will include monthly food assistance to 2.1 million people.
