An upsurge of locusts in northern Africa may spiral into a plague that would devastate crops, the UN鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned, as Spain joined the effort to combat the voracious insects.
Nine Spanish planes left for Morocco on Monday to spray insecticide across the land and kill the recent swarms. 鈥淚t is a lot easier to control the plague in the desert than in Spain,鈥� Juan Pena, the head of the Spanish project, told El Pais newspaper.
However, experts have told 快猫短视频 that fears that the swarms may hit Europe may be unfounded as this would require 鈥渦nusual winds鈥�. Furthermore, locusts have never been known to thrive in Europe.
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鈥淭he chances of the desert locust moving into Spain or anywhere in Europe and causing extensive damage to crops is extremely small,鈥� says Clive Elliott, senior officer of the UN鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organisation鈥檚 locust and other migratory pests group.
A much greater worry is that the insects could breed to plague proportions and ruin the livelihoods of poor African farmers and affect food security. The last African locust plague lasted from 1986 to 1989 and struck 40 countries.
Wet season
In 2003, exceptionally wet rainy seasons in the Sahel and northern Africa meant that the desert locust species (Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal)) was able to breed more generations of offspring than usual, leading to a population boom.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to control in terms of protecting crops in the Sahel and trying to prevent it from getting any bigger,鈥� Elliott told 快猫短视频. 鈥淧ossibly this summer is the last chance to do so. Once it really gets going it鈥檚 extremely difficult to deal with as the population gets larger and larger.鈥�
Previous plagues of the 1940s and 1950s lasted 10 or 15 years, and hit as many as 65 countries, says Elliott. 鈥淚t would be fairly horrendous if we moved into that scale,鈥� he warns.
The north African countries currently suffering swarms 鈥� Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya 鈥� are making 鈥渢remendous efforts鈥� to control the insatiable pests, he says. But because the locusts cover such a huge area, Elliott predicts that substantial numbers of swarms will escape and move back into the Sahel later in 2004.
Mob mentality
Whether the locusts have another successful breeding round will depend on the summer rains in the Sahel, he says. But reports suggest the rains may have already started. 鈥淭hen we would expect that by the end of 2004 that a full blown plague will have developed.鈥�
A plague of locusts is defined as a large, gregarious population present in at least two major regions. Locusts are normally lone creatures, but when times are good and their numbers boom, they modify their behaviour and group together gregariously. Elliott predicts that the locusts could spread to West Africa and eastwards to Sudan and even the Red Sea region.
The planes that Spain is sending will spray insecticide, but the FAO is also trying to develop more environmentally friendly 鈥渂iopesticides鈥�.
It has tested a biopesticide spray consisting of a natural fungus called Metarhizium. This kills the locusts within three to four weeks. Other products affect the insect growth regulators and disrupt the moulting process, so the locusts never reach adulthood.
However, Elliott adds that without more international funding, trials will not move into large scale use.