« Jesus in the mosque | Main | This Week's Good Idea - Vote for Trade Justice »

April 07, 2005

More locusts coming to Burkina Faso

This report from Relief Web tells us the consequences of the last locust invasion of Burkina Faso and the Sahel. We have still a second distribution of food aid coming up because of the severe shortages from this and the drought. But the report also warns of another invasion in the coming months:

"A serious food crisis is developing in the Sahel region, particularly Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The desert locust invasion which swept across the semi-arid Sahel region of West Africa in 2004 was the worst of its kind in 15 years and was accompanied by localised drought in many of the areas worst affected.

Current estimates indicate 60% of Mauritanian households are food-insecure. A further 3.5 million people in Niger, 3 million in Burkina Faso and 1.7 million in Mali are also affected.

Tensions are also building up between farmers, migrants and nomads as the livestock of the nomads competes for what remained of the crops. Market prices for staple food have risen considerably. Livestock prices have fallen as farmers sell their animals so as to buy food; women are forced to sell their jewellery and spare clothes for similar reasons.

Desert Locust swarms are maturing in Northwest Africa and egg-laying has started in NE Algeria. Several immature swarms persist in southern Senegal and Guinea...These are likely to return in large numbers by mid-2005; this would lead to greater food insecurity in the Sahel countries.

The United Nations has increased its 2005 appeal for West Africa by USD 38 million in order to help countries battling with the aftermath of last locust invasion and localized drought."

It also reports:
"Spring breeding commenced during March in Northwest Africa...Several immature swarms that persisted in southern Senegal and Guinea during March will eventually move towards central Mali in April and May....Sahelian countries should prepare themselves for any swarms that could arrive from Northwest Africa from about late June onwards."

Posted by Keith at April 7, 2005 08:30 AM