The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has issued an alert over desert locust invasion.

FAO says heavy rains and cyclones have triggered a surge in desert locust populations, causing an outbreak in Sudan and Eritrea that is rapidly spreading along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The UN agency called on all affected countries to step up vigilance and control measures to contain the destructive infestations and protect crops from the world’s most dangerous migratory pest.

Good rains along the Red Sea coastal plains in Eritrea and Sudan have allowed two generations of breeding since October, leading to a substantial increase in locust populations and formation of highly mobile swarms.

At least one swarm crossed the Red Sea to the northern coast of Saudi Arabia in mid-January, followed by additional migrations about one week later. Groups of mature winged adults and a few swarms also moved north along the coast to southeast Egypt at the end of the month.

Aerial spraying operations were mounted in Sudan and Saudi Arabia supplemented by ground control measures in both countries, as well as in Eritrea and Egypt, treating more than 80,000 ha since December...

”The further spread of the current outbreak depends on two major factors - effective control and monitoring measures in locust breeding areas of Sudan, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries, and rainfall intensity between March and May along both sides of the Red Sea and in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula,” said Keith Cressman, FAO’s Senior Locust Forecasting Officer.


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