HIGHLIGHTS
In 2012, the Sahel in West Africa faced the most serious Desert Locust threat since 2005. More than 50 million people were potentially affected in Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
Successful control operations in the Sahel during the summer of 2012 reduced the scale of the autumn migration to Northwest Africa. Nevertheless, locust populations have increased in Algeria, Libya and Morocco as a result of winter/spring breeding.
Despite control operations, adult groups and perhaps small swarms formed and are expected to move to the northern Sahel of Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger in June and breed with the onset of the summer rains, causing locust numbers to increase further.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) requested USD 10 million in June 2012 for urgent action to coordinate the emergency campaign and allow national locusts control units to undertake the required operation.
With the USD 7.2 million received (from the Central Emergency Response Fund [CERF], Belgium, France, United Kingdom and USA), FAO continues to ensure overall campaign coordination and technical support through:
• A Regional Strategic Response Framework for the Desert Locust threat in the Sahel.• Regular update of the Regional Action Plan. • Strengthened the operational capacity of national survey and control teams in Chad, Mali and Mali. • Triangulation of pesticides (airlifting pesticides from a country in the region with available stocks to a recipient country). • Enhanced preparedness for potential upscale of interventions in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.
Bilateral assistance of USD 1 million to Niger has allowed the country to further strengthen its survey and control capacity.
Current funding gap is USD 1.8 million. Consequences of unmet requirements: reduction of field survey teams, less control, increased risk to crops, and more locusts will move to other countries.