Efforts to contain locust outbreak ineffective

Efforts by Namibia and neighbouring Zambia to contain a locust outbreak have proved ineffective, according to a Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report. FEWS NET called for better cooperation between the two countries to counter the threat posed to crops. The Namibian Ministry of Agriculture Water and Rural Development (MAWRD) has been attempting to spray the locusts, which have already reached swarming stage, using less affective knapsack sprayers, noted the report. Namibian authorities are constrained by the fact that the country is not a member of the International Red Locust Control Organisation (IRLO), which offers access to expertise and resources to tackle infestations, Kahijoro Kahuure, the permanent secretary of MAWRD, told IRIN. Talks were currently underway with Zambia, a member of the IRLO, to chalk out details of a joint operation to contain the locusts. "We are talking about sharing resources such as planes for the spraying operation," he said. A serious infestation in eastern Caprivi was reported in September, and the following month swarms of locusts were spotted on the Zambian side of the Zambezi river. "The main problem, however, is that control efforts on one side of the river [are] likely [to] fail as long as there are no corresponding control efforts being instituted on the Zambian side," FEWS NET commented. Chansa Mushinge, head of FEWS NET in Zambia, said the locust situation in Zambia was not an "immediate threat to food security in the area, as there are no crops to damage. However, they will become a major threat in November, when households begin planting, but we hope to resolve the situation by then." The report noted that the locusts were close to the agriculturally productive areas around the towns of Sesheke, Lusinina and Lukuku, and could threaten the maize crop, which would have grown to knee height by November. Zambia's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives lacked the capacity to gather information on the locust infestation and had asked for "immediate logistical support" to be provided to them, FEWS NET said. The network has called on the IRLO to resolve the issue of Namibian membership and come up with a cost structure and insecticides for spraying operations in both Namibia and Zambia. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, locusts are capable of eating their own weight in food each day, and a swarm can destroy up to 80,000 mt of food in 24 hours. There was a similar locust outbreak last year in December in the Kazungula district in Zambia's Southern Province, said FEWS NET. "Fortunately the pests were concentrated on grassland and therefore no damage was reported to cropped land. The IRLO carried out both ground and aerial spraying in order to quickly bring the situation under control."