Locust

In the late eighties large-scale control operations were carried out to control a major desert locust upsurge in Africa. For the first time since the banning of organochlorine pesticides these operations relied mainly on non-persistent pesticides such as organophosphates and pyrethroids. The amount of pesticides sprayed and the area covered were probably the highest in the history of locust control and raised criticism with respect to efficacy, economic viability and environmental impact. As a consequence, applied research into the problem was intensified, both at the national and the international level, with the goal of finding new and environmentally sound approaches and solutions to locust and grasshopper control. Emphasis was laid on developing new control agents and techniques.

For thousands of years, humans have found themselves vulnerable to plagues of desert locusts. Some fifty countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been ravaged, at one time or another, by huge, devouring swarms of locusts. With the consequent, often total, destruction of crops and grazing, widespread hunger and starvation ensued. Colin Everard's book takes as its geographical focus the Horn of Africa, an area which throughout history has suffered catastrophically from locust plagues. Based on his own extensive experience in the region, Everard describes one of the greatest (albeit unsung) triumphs of the twentieth century, namely, how the desert locust scourge has, at last, been virtually brought under control.

Although locusts are a type of grasshopper, they differ physiologically and in their behaviour. When environmental conditions allow, locusts multiply rapidly so that billions of them can aggregate and migrate vast distances devouring every growing green thing in their path. Plagues of locusts have occured for a long time and are even referenced in the Old Testament of the Bible. The magnitude of damage and crop loss that they can cause is enormous and beyond imagination. They have been the cause of starvation across continents in the past. The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) is the most widespread and destructive of all locust species. When they invade they can cover about 30 million square kilometres and can include all or parts of 64 countries in the northwest and east of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and central Asia, including Afghanistan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, among others.

Surveys conditions in Red Sea area, East Africa, the Sahara, Arabian Peninsula and South Asia.

Over the course of 2020, the most devastating Desert Locust upsurge of the past 25 years has spread across parts of the Middle East, the greater Horn of Africa, and southwest Asia. The upsurge poses an unprecedented risk to livelihoods and food security in some of the most food insecure countries in the world. FAO and its partners have mobilized more than USD 163 million since January 2020. The response includes three key pillars: (1) curbing the spread of desert locusts (including surveillance) (2) safeguarding livelihoods and promoting recovery and (3) coordination and preparedness of the rapid surge support. In this context, the FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) has been requested by the Director-General to conduct a real time evaluation (RTE), conducted across three phases spread over one year. Each phase will cover specific aspects of the response. Phase 1 focuses on leadership, management and coordination of the response and was conducted from June to October 2020. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of this phase 1 have been presented to a wide range of stakeholders and are developed in the Phase 1 report. Phase 2 focuses on results as well as management and operations at country level. Phase 3 will complete the RTE process drawing lessons for future operations and FAO’s work on desert locust in the region.

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