Viewpoints | Jul 03,2021
Kemise Wereda suddenly grew dark in the middle of the day last month. The sun could barely be seen anymore. On most other years, this would have been the clouds. That day, and for days to come, it was a swarm of desert locusts, the world’s most dangerous migratory pest, announcing their appearance. Short on any means of effectively fighting against the swarms, the farmers’ attempts proved to be an exercise in futility.
"Can you count the raindrops from the sky?" says one of the farmers in the area. "That's what we were up against."
Several of the stories coming from farmers were harrowing. "My wife collapsed when she saw the damaged crops," another farmer told BBC Amharic. "She agonised over what to feed the children."
This was not just the fate of farmers in Kemise, nor even Ethiopia. The desert locusts have infested areas in Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan and Kenya. The severity was one that has not been witnessed in a quarter of a century. Combined with heavy rains that created the ideal breeding environment for the locusts, they managed to proliferate by 8,000-fold, according to the Food & Agriculture Organisation.
The locusts have thus far infested 281,000ha of land. By the time that the locusts are done, a total of 2.4 million hectares of farming and pasture lands are expected to be impacted. Together with floods and droughts, this is estimated to worsen food insecurity in the country that would require well over a billion dollars to address.
As the severity of the desert locust infestation became evident last weekend, it has led to criticism against the local and federal agricultural bureaus for their mishandling of the issue. Despite warnings of desert locust swarms from as far back as 2019, just a little over half of the land infested with the pests has been treated with pesticides since July, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
But even the antidote to the desert locusts may have adverse effects in itself, as some experts see it, not to mention talk of its ineffectiveness. This has to do with the locusts laying their eggs deeper in the ground than the pesticides can reach. Compounding this is the possibility that the 200,000lt of insecticide that have been sprayed since March may poison crops.
"We need to assess the amount, type and duration of insecticide use," said an expert in plant sciences and entomology.
You can read the full story here
PUBLISHED ON
Oct 17,2020 [ VOL
21 , NO
1068]
Viewpoints | Jul 03,2021
Radar | Jun 11,2022
Radar | Feb 19,2022
Viewpoints | Jan 07,2022
Radar | Apr 02,2022
Viewpoints | Feb 27,2021
Radar | Apr 30,2022
Viewpoints | Jan 29,2022
Viewpoints | Jul 23,2022
Radar | Mar 28,2020
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transportin...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
The cracks in Ethiopia's higher education system were laid bare during a synthesis re...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Construction authorities have unveiled a price adjustment implementation manual for s...
Nov 23 , 2024
The fiscal puzzle deepens as the Council of Ministers approved a supplementary budget...
Nov 16 , 2024
In the realm of public finance, balance sheets speak louder than rhetoric. In such do...
Nov 9 , 2024
Ethiopia's foreign exchange debacle resembles a tangled web of contradictions and con...
Nov 2 , 2024
Addis Abeba, fondly dubbed a 'New Flower,' is wilting under the weight of unchecked u...
Loading your updates...