Locust swarms in Africa, Middle East rapidly increasing because of flight closures, spike in pesticide prices

by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Efforts to combat the spread of locust swarms in East Africa are facing serious challenges as a result of border closures, flight shutdowns, and increased shipping prices, with the current swarms expected to grow 500 times by June.

Bloomberg reports that the principal secretary of crop development and agricultural research in Kenya has cited a tripling of pesticide prices due to a lack of flights as a major hindrance to the ability of governments in East Africa to fight the crisis.

“If we fail in the current (regional) control operations, because of lack of pesticides, then we could see 4 million more people struggle to feed their families,” head of resilience for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Cyril Ferrand told Reuters.

So far, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have been hardest hit, but the swarms, which have been recorded in groups of up to 2 billion locusts in Kenya, are expected to hit 30 countries.

The Locust Watch website for the FAO notes that swarms that laid eggs along 560 miles of coast in southwest Iran are likely to create serious problems for the Islamic Republic and Yemen after heavy rains in March that allowed for rapid breeding conditions, and could extend to Pakistan.

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