FAO appeals for urgent support to fight worsening Desert Locust upsurge in the Horn of Africa
03.02.2020 12:30 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today the Desert Locust upsurge in the Horn of Africa threatened to provoke a humanitarian crisis and appealed for urgent funding to tackle the outbreak in order to protect livelihoods and food security. The locust outbreak is the worst to strike Ethiopia and Somalia for 25 years and the worst infestation that Kenya had experienced in 70 years. Djibouti and Eritrea are now being affected. FAO has already mobilized $15.4 million of the $76 million requested for the five countries but expects the needs will rise amid concern that the outbreak will spread to other countries, in particular South Sudan and Uganda. Qu told an informal briefing of FAO Member States representatives at the UN agencys Rome headquarters that it has mobilized staff and resources to tackle the worsening outbreak and was working closely with governments and partners in a region where food security was already very fragile. «Timing and location is crucial. I hope we can work hard day and night so people do not lose their crops,» Qu said. The Desert Locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a small swarm covering one square kilometer can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. Pasture and croplands have already suffered damage in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia and there are potentially severe consequences for the region where nearly 12 million people are coping with severe acute food insecurity and many rely on agriculture for their survival. FAO experts are on the ground, supporting control operations and initiating efforts to safeguard livelihoods, particularly of those already experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. According to FAOs latest update on the Desert Locust upsurge, the current situation will be further worsened by breeding activity that will produce new locust infestations in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. FAO is working closely with these countries as well as their neighbours, Djibouti and Eritrea, while monitoring Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen for any developments. «We need to act immediately because the locusts dont wait, they will come and they will destroy,» said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources. «We need to tackle the emergency but we need to think about livelihoods and the long-term.»FAOs Desert Locust Information Service says the situation is extremely alarming and will be further exacerbated by new infestations expected in early April. In Kenya alone, large swarms, up to 60 km long and 40 km wide, invaded all the countrys northern counties and some central areas in less than a month, causing substantial damage to crops and livestock deprived of pastureland. A total of 13 counties have so far been affected in Kenya. A new generation of locusts is expected to hatch in February and with new swarms expected in early April that would coincide with the next season of planting. At that time, the seasonal winds will have shifted to the north, which is likely to allow the newly formed swarms in Kenya to reinvade Ethiopia and Somalia as well as to migrate to new areas of South Sudan and Sudan. The rise in numbers is causing serious concern about the swarms in northern Kenya as they are only 200 kilometres from the countrys borders with South Sudan and Uganda. Both countries last faced locust invasions in 1961. The Desert Locust upsurge represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods and has the potential to become a regional plague that could lead to further suffering and displacement. In South Sudan, where food insecurity is already at an emergency level in many parts of the country, the Desert Locusts could wipe out pastures and crops causing the deterioration of an already alarming situation.
23.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
16:23 |
MEPs approve trade support measures for Ukraine with protection for EU farmers |
17.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
18:08 |
Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food predicts this year’s harvest of grains and oilseeds at about 74 million tonnes |
16.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
12:12 |
West Africa Cocoa Shortage Pushes Up Prices |
11.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
23:48 |
U.S. Soybean Meal Exports Forecast at Consecutive Records in 2022/23 and 2023/24 |
|
23:10 |
EU Wheat Exports Challenged by Russia’s Growing Dominance |
|
11:30 |
Country of origin of honey must be clearly visible on the label. EU honey traceability system to be developed |
10.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
15:59 |
Commission starts setting up the Agriculture and Food Chain Observatory |
|
15:33 |
Commission approves ˆ2.2 billion German State aid scheme to support the decarbonisation of industrial processes to foster the transition to a net-zero economy |
|
13:17 |
Donau Soja urges EU for clarity on EUDR implementation |
09.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:44 |
Ukraine remained the third source of EU imports in 2023, with a value of EUR 11.8 billion |
06.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:04 |
World cereal output seen up in 2023/24 |
|
09:55 |
FAO Food Price Index rises in March |
05.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:04 |
Shellfish Crop Insurance Program Offers Oyster Producers Needed Protection from Environmental Challenges and More |
03.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
23:01 |
Croatian horseradish root ‘Ludbreški hren' added to register of Protected Designations of Origin |
02.04.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:15 |
FAO and chef Fatmata Binta announce new project to empower women fonio producers in Ghana |
28.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
12:55 |
Council compromise on Ukraine ATMs – Only a half step forward in the right direction |
|
09:18 |
Commission approves amendment to Italian State aid scheme to support companies in Friuli Venezia Giulia in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine |
26.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:55 |
Projected famine in Gaza: FAO urges immediate access to deliver urgent and critical assistance at scale. About 1.1 million people are experiencing catastrophic food insecurity |
|
08:44 |
EU makes major step forward in the delivery of 2024 humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza* |
25.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
16:17 |
Commission approves ˆ86.9 million Bulgarian State aid scheme to support farmers in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine |
21.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
11:15 |
Commission takes action to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the EU |
20.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
11:13 |
Deal to extend trade support for Ukraine with safeguards for EU farmers |
19.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
09:43 |
CAP - The Commission proposes simplifications that safeguard agricultural transitions! |
18.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
23:10 |
The European Union and Switzerland launch negotiations to deepen bilateral relations |
|
10:05 |
Commission proposes targeted review of Common Agricultural Policy to support EU farmers |
15.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
23:36 |
Cargill Power CanolaTM Program Helps Farmers Take Advantage of Growing Bioenergy Market Opportunities for Canadian Canola |
|
23:19 |
FAO will provide Ukrainian farmers with soybean and sunflower seeds for spring sowing campaign |
13.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
23:27 |
FAO urges more cooperation in banana sector, significant for some least developed and low-income food-deficit countries and smallholder farmers |
|
16:51 |
The European Commission sets out key steps for managing climate risks to protect people and prosperity |
12.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
20:25 |
Coreper and COMENVI approve the provisional agreement on EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework |
|
20:24 |
INTA MEPs fail EU producers by dismissing potential improvements to Ukraine ATMs |
|
08:10 |
Soybean meal is expected to be a more competitive feed ingredient on higher global supplies. |
11.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
09:11 |
U.S. Corn Exports Shift Destinations as Brazil Captures China Market |
08.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
15:20 |
Conflicts push acute food insecurity higher |
|
13:21 |
FAO Food Price Index declines further in February |
|
13:14 |
Packaging: Council and Parliament strike a deal to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU |
|
11:45 |
Commission approves ˆ61.3 million Bulgarian State aid scheme to support farmers, producers of grain and oil crops, in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine |
07.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
20:41 |
First go-ahead to renewing trade support for Ukraine and Moldova |
05.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
15:55 |
Commission proposes to prolong road transport agreements with Ukraine and Moldova and introduces updates to the agreement with Ukraine |
02.03.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
07:31 |
Heroes of deserts and highlands: Nourishing people and culture |
23.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
10:21 |
BASF’s financial strength supports proposed stable dividend of ˆ3.40 per share for the 2023 business year |
|
10:17 |
The Council has chosen to ignore farmers' concerns regarding Ukraine ATMs; it is now imperative for the European Parliament to take action |
20.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
20:27 |
South Asia is anticipated to import nearly 14 million tons wheat in 2023/24 |
19.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
13:00 |
Cargill and ENOUGH expand partnership to provide consumers with innovative, sustainable protein options |
17.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
17:47 |
Global Environment Facility approves new FAO-led projects and programs benefiting 46 countries |
16.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
09:10 |
The EU is at a crossroads with the Ukrainian agricultural issue - COPA-COGECA, AVES, CEFS, CEPM, CIBE, EUWEP |
13.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
17:31 |
European farmers exempted from rules on land lying fallow |
12.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
16:45 |
India Wheat Stocks Plummet to Lowest in 15 Years |
03.02.2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
17:35 |
Mandarins. Global production for 2023/24 is forecast to rise to 38.0 million tons |
|
09:59 |
Record cereal output in 2023 |
Also available:
|