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Desert locust response to mitigate impacts on food security and livelihoods in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia

Objective:

To mitigate the impact of desert locust on food security and livelihoods through emergency response to curb the spread of the pest by treating affected areas, and improving coordination and preparedness through enhanced government capacity.

Activities implemented:

  • Contracted aerial support for use in surveillance and control operations in all three countries – project resources supported two aircraft in Ethiopia, seven in Kenya and two in Somalia.
  • Procured 21 vehicle-mounted sprayers, three biopesticide pumps, ten motorcycles and 19 vehicles (Ethiopia).
  • Supported staff costs associated with key technical and project administrative roles, including procurement, coordination, logistics management, and capacity support to the Ministry of Agriculture (Ethiopia).
  • Trained 1 035 scouts to conduct surveillance and 41 training of trainers (Kenya).
  • Procured a single cabin pick-up to support ground surveillance and control activities, one drum crusher for destroying empty pesticide containers, 19 laptop computers, and 70 knapsack Ultra-Low Volume sprayers (Kenya).
  • Supported the development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system and tools (data collection formats, mobile-based questionnaires, reporting tools) (Kenya).
  • Carried out ground and aerial control operations in Puntland, Somaliland and Galmudug, and procured 3 130 kg of biopesticides – enough to treat 62 600 ha (Somalia).
  • Contributed to the development of the EarthRanger data platform to report and map areas affected by desert locust (Somalia).

Impact:

  • Contributed significantly to the control operations in the region, enabling the treatment of 98 950 ha across the three countries.
  • Helped to avert the loss of 197 900 tonnes of crops (worth an estimated USD 59 million).
  • Enabled 1.28 million people to meet their annual cereal needs and 92 000 pastoral households to continue feeding their livestock as a result of surveillance and control operations.
  • Enhanced government capacities, providing a knowledge base of technical operations should another desert locust upsurge occur, along with equipment that will be retained for governments’ future use.

 

Source:  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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