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Ethiopia: Desert locust Situation Report - April 2020

Pays
Éthiopie
Sources
FAO
Date de publication
Origine
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KEY MESSAGES

  • Despite control efforts, cross-border movements of immature swarms along the borders of Kenya and Somalia are ongoing. Swarms that formed in Somalia are now moving into Ethiopia through Aysha.

  • Hopper bands and a new generation of immature swarms are forming in the Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' (SNNP) regions, including the Rift Valley – the nation’s breadbasket.

  • Desert locusts are currently active in 161 woredas, down from 172 in February 2020.

  • Unless properly controlled, the locust invasion will cause large-scale crop, pasture, and forest-cover loss, worsening food and feed insecurity, especially in areas emerging from recurrent El Niño-induced drought.

  • Around 8.5 million people in Ethiopia are already in severe acute food insecurity and in need of humanitarian assistance (IPC, 2019). Of these, over 6 million live in areas currently experiencing a desert locust upsurge.

  • A critical season has started for pastoralists and households relying on short rains (February–May) for crop production in the country. Hopper production poses a threat to pasture and crops planted during the belg season in southern Ethiopia and in the Somali region.

CONTROL OPERATIONS

  • The Government of Ethiopia has scaled up desert locust survey and control operations, especially in the Oromia, SNNP and Somali regions – the current hotspots of the invasion.

  • A ground team of 136 experts and over 1 630 community scouts is supporting operations.