The UN-Food and Agriculture Organization has received Sh2.1 billion from the United Kingdom to fight the desert locust surge in East Africa.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said the funds are in addition to a previous contribution of Sh1 billion donated earlier this year. The cash came through the United Kingdom's Department for International Development.
"We are once again grateful to the United Kingdom for their consistent support, which will go far helping to safeguard the food security and livelihoods of vulnerable farmers and their families in Africa and Asia threatened by desert locust," Dongyu said.
Dongyu said the funds will scale up ongoing efforts in East Africa, Yemen and Southwest Asia.
“DFID today also announced an additional Sh125.9 million which will be dedicated to supporting several institutions, including the University of Cambridge to establish tools, technologies and partnerships needed for effective pest surveillance, forecasting and early warning activities,” he said.
According to the FAO’s desert locust hub, there is still a serious risk of swarms migrating from the Horn of Africa to West Africa, India and Pakistan.
Dongyu said heavy spring rains across most of East Africa only led to better breeding conditions for the most destructive migratory pest in the world.
The next generation swarms will potentially be even larger than the ones we are grappling with now.
“Although substantial gains have been made in the fight against the desert locust, sustained support is critical to contain the threat. Capacity to detect desert locusts early enough is crucial, including through the use of technologies and partnerships, and for that, we must work together,” he said.
He added that these operations must be maintained to avert a potential humanitarian crisis from unfolding in the region.
The recent Global Report on Food Crises indicated that some 25 million people were already facing acute hunger in Eastern Africa in 2020. An additional 17 million people in Yemen were in the same situation.
“With FAO's support, so far 1.3 million tonnes of crops have been protected — enough to feed nearly nine million people for an entire year. Yet the surge shows no sign of slowing across the Horn of Africa, and in fact, may be increasing in Southwest Asia,” Dongyu said.
