Climate Adaptation
The Cost of Fighting Desert Locusts in East Africa Has Doubled
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The money needed to combat a desert locust outbreak in eastern Africa has doubled to $138 million, the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations said.
The cash is urgently needed “to help governments control these devastating pests, especially in the next four months.” Only $33 million has been received or committed so far, the FAO said in a statement.
“Each day, more countries are affected,” the FAO said. This week, for the first time since 1944, a swarm entered the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan already have the pest threatening “the most important crop of the year,” FAO said.