The hum of millions of locusts on the move is broken by the screams of farmers and the clanging of pots and pans. But their noise-making does little to stop the voracious insects from feasting on their crops in this rural community.

The Desert Locust, Schistocercagregariagregaria (Forskål 1775), is one of the world’s most notorious agricultural pests. As described during the eighth plague in ancient Egypt, the outbreak of locust infestation caused famine for humans.

East African countries are battling the worst desert locust invasion in decades. The locusts are devouring crops and pasture leaving in their wake a region that is staring at a potential food crisis.

A locust plague up to 20 times larger than a wave two months earlier is threatening to devastate parts of East Africa.

Massive swarms of locusts are sweeping across South Asia, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. The current outbreak is the worst in recent decades.

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, QU Dongyu, today welcomed a €15 million contribution from the European Union to fight the Desert Locust upsurge in East Africa as a new wave of locusts is emerging in the region.

Drawn to an emaciated avocado drooping from a drying mother tree, Esther Ndavu wonders aloud if it will ever mature into the fist-sized oval fruit that keeps city residents going. 

Africa is currently experiencing two locust outbreaks both due to unusual climatic conditions. These two outbreaks are unrelated but are due to the unusually high rainfall and flooding in the areas where low densities of the locusts occur.

“This is the first time seeing such a scary situation ever since I was born here. Nothing else can compare to such a serious threat,” said farmer Fabian Sisamu.

 A new generation of locust swarms is threatening to wipe out the livelihoods of farmers and herders across eastern Africa – deepening a food crisis in a region where 35 million people are already hungry, the United Nations warned .

uge swarms of brown locusts have been an issue in three provinces since September 2021, leaving a trail of destruction in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape.