Large swarms of locusts have ravaged crops in East Africa




Large swarms of locusts have ravaged crops in East Africa, prompting authorities in Somalia to declare a national emergency, making it the first country in the region to do so.

This locust storm came across the Red Sea from Yemen and first attacked Eritrea, Djibouti and Ethiopia. Some Ethiopian farmers lost their entire crop yield to the notoriously voracious pests, which can eat their entire weight in 24 hours. Put another way, a small swarm can eat enough food to feed 35,000 people in 24 hours.

The ravenous swarms that have migrated over Somalia pose "a major threat to Somalia's fragile food security situation," said the country's Ministry of Agriculture in a statement, as the BBC reported. The invasion has authorities worried that the situation will not be under control by the time the harvest season begins in April.


Food sources for people and their livestock are at risk, the desert swarms are uncommonly large and consume huge amounts of crops and forage.

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