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Some 365,015 hectares of farmland have been destroyed by an invasion of desert locusts, revealed the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
“Ethiopia is experiencing its worst desert locust outbreak in 25 years, exacerbating an already alarming nutrition and food security situation,” UNOCHA said in a press release issued on Friday.
“The invasion of desert locusts has so far damaged 365,015 hectares of farmland in multiple regions, devastating crops and livelihoods in at least 76 locations across the country.”
The UNOCHA report warned that the desert locust infestation is expected to persist for much of the remainder of 2021, with incidences of swarms causing damage to crops and pastures.
The report also revealed that since the first wave of desert locust invasion was detected in late 2019, it has spread to more than 170 localities, which are home to more than 16 million people.
Since 2019, Ethiopia has been experiencing the worst desert locust invasion in about 25 years, affecting the country’s main crop-producing areas.
The desert locust, which is considered “the most dangerous of the nearly a dozen species of locusts,” is a major food security hazard in the desert areas of 20 countries, stretching from West Africa to India, covering almost 16 million square. km, according to the United Nations.
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