While we are focusing on coronavirus, an ongoing plague has devastated Afrika far more than COVID-19.

Weeks before the coronavirus spread through much of the world, parts of Africa experienced the biggest locust outbreak some countries had seen in 70 years.
Hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter of a century, threatening crops and livelihoods.

In Jan. 2020, insect swarms harmed 100% of staple yields in Somalia, as per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. 30% of pastureland was lost in Kenya, and harvests were wrecked in South Sudan. Somalia has just pronounced a national crisis over beetle swarms, however has been busy with a common war for about three decades.

“If we fail in the current [regional] control operations, because of lack of pesticides, then we could see 4 million more people struggle to feed their families,” Cyril Ferrand of the FAO said to Reuters.
Ferramd added that, “If we don’t have pesticides, our planes cannot fly and people cannot spray, and if we are not able to control these swarms, we will have big damage to crops.”
Notwithstanding crops, grasshopper swarms will influence creature agribusiness, another pivotal wellspring of salary and nourishment for families.

In only one day, a swarm is equipped for devouring enough nourishment to take care of 35,000 individuals. A typical swarm can consist of up to 150 million locusts per square kilometer.
These swarms stretch more than 30 miles, which is comparable to 250 football fields or 150 million insects.
Out of $138m requested by the UN to tackle the crisis, $52m has been received, $10m of which has come from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Chinese government announced in February they could deploy 100,000 ducks .
Locusts multiply rapidly, scientists say they are likely to achieve two generations of new breeding by June this year, increasing their population size up to 400 times.
With the locust swarms gaining size and strength, experts fear that up to 100% of farmers’ budding crops could be consumed, leaving some communities with nothing to harvest.

FAO fears that up to an additional 5 million people could become food insecure in East Africa by June of this year.
#PrayforAfrika
Sources: BBC, QuartzAfrica
