Huge Swarms of Desert Locusts Are Causing a Crisis in East Africa

Desert Locust Swarm ©FAO/Sven Torfinn. Editorial use only. Copyright FAO

Desert locusts are eating their way through east Africa and leaving a huge food security crisis in their wake. Desert locusts are migratory pests. One swarm one square kilometer in size could eat as much food in a day as 35,000 people. And in many places in East Africa, the swarms today are far larger than that. Ethiopia and Somalia are experiencing their worst desert locust situation in 25 years. Kenya is experiencing its worst locust crisis in 70 years.

Keith Cressman is the senior desert locust forecasting officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He explains why we are seeing this historic upsurge in desert locusts in East Africa, their impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in this region, and what can be done to control the swarms and mitigate their impact. 

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