Locust swarms reach Nigeria and Cape Verde as control costs soar

Locust swarms devouring vegetation throughout West Africa have been reported for the first time in northern Nigeria and the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic ocean. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that unless a new generation of immature insects developing in the semi-desert of southern Mauritania is sprayed quickly with insecticide, a new generation of mature locusts will take to the skies in the coming weeks and wreak even greater damage on crops throughout the Sahel. "If we do not succeed in controlling the plague in Mauritania, we will have new swarms taking off for Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad and beyond there towards Sudan," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf told reporters in Dakar on Wednesday night following a two-day trip to Mauritania and Senegal. Diouf said he estimated the cost of controlling the locust invasion had gone up to US$100 million from $9 million in February when the FAO first appealed for international aid to deal with the threat of a new plague across West Africa. But he warned that unless the international community reacted quickly, several countries could face famine and the final cost would be much higher. "If we delay, we will be faced with the situation we experienced 15 years ago when $600 million had to be devoted to the fight against locusts over a period of five years," Diouf said. Nigerian officials said on Thursday that swarms of locusts had flown into three states in the northwest of the country over the past week and were causing heavy damage to crops in some areas. Locust swarms had been detected in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states, they told IRIN. "The pests were first seen about a week ago," Mustapha Shehu, the spokesman for Sokoto state government said. "Our farmers in areas like Sabon Birni, Isa, Wurno and Goronyo have lost their crops. Only Allah can tell if there will be any harvest." "We hired an aircraft to spray insecticide to stop further spread," Shehu said. "We need help from wherever we can get it because the locusts are in such great numbers that we cannot handle the situation alone." Millions of peasant farmers in the three affected states rely on food crops such as maize, millet, sorghum beans and groundnuts. They also grow cotton. Meanwhile, the FAO reported that a brief period of northeasterly winds had blown several swarms of locusts out to the Cape Verde Islands, 450 km west of Senegal on August 5. The swarms contained up to 50 insects per square metre and numerous locusts, tired out by the long flight, were found dead on the beaches of four of the archipelago's inhabited islands, the FAO said in a statement. Agricultural experts say the situation is particularly critical in the semi-arid countries of the Sahel since the rainy season has created favourable conditions for locust breeding and a new generation of the insects is likely to descend on food crops there next month just as they are ripening for the annual harvest. FAO said locust control teams in Mauritania managed to treat just over 6,000 hectares of infected land during the first 10 days of August. However, the government has said it needs to spray up to one million hectares to bring the insects under control. In Senegal, Mame Nene Lo, the director of vegetation protection at the Agriculture Ministry, told the French news agency AFP that more than 111,000 hectares had been infested with locusts since they first arrived in the country from neighbouring Mauritania in early July, but 35,000 hectares had been sprayed. FAO reported that bands of newly hatched wingless hoppers were forming in the north of the country. On Wednesday, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade launched a fresh appeal for planes, pick-up trucks and spraying equipment to step up the locust control campaign. He also urged donors to provide radios for the control teams to keep in touch with their base and protective clothing for their members. Dozens of soldiers and firemen have been drafted into the campaign. Localised damage to crops has also been reported in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.