East Africa braces for a return of the locusts

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, announced during the FEC press briefing that locusts and quella birds from neighbouring Niger Republic have invaded farms in parts of Borno and Adamawa States.

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In tonight's edition :Heavy rain in more than half a dozen eastern African countries has killed at least 265 people in the past two months. With more rain in the forecast, there is now fear over waterborne diseases and the prospect of hunger as crops are destroyed. A former Nigerian governer and a current senator is sentenced to 12 years in jail. He was found guilty of stealing 18 million euros. And finally Ivorian events organizer "La Sunday" is coming up on its first birthday.

A locust invasion in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has left crops devastated. It is the biggest swarm in decades, with billions of the ravenous insects nibbling their way through the already climate-ravaged region.

Billions of locusts are ravaging crops in East Africa – the UN warns there is a risk of catastrophe. Officials say immediate action is needed before more rainfall in the weeks ahead brings fresh vegetation to feed new generations of the pests.

Desert locusts have been ravaging East Africa. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warns of a food crisis. The main response has been spraying the areas affected by pesticides. But more needs to be done.

A new generation of desert locusts is threatening Kenya. Estimates indicate that, if left unchecked, the swarms will be 20 times worse than those that hit the region just two months ago. The UN warns that the locusts pose "an unprecedented threat" to food security and livelihoods.

After the rainy season and devastating floods, Ethiopia is facing an influx of desert locusts. Tens of thousands of people lost everything in the floods and the insects have destroyed many remaining crops. Meanwhile, war broke out earlier this month in the northern Tigray region between the army and Tigrayan forces. Local authorities are concerned that an already disastrous humanitarian crisis could get even worse. Our correspondent Maria Gerth-Niculescu reports.

East Africa has not just suffered from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, but also the worst locust plague in decades. Now, the swarms are returning, and experts are concerned about food security in the region.