Second Wave of Locusts, COVID-19 Present Dilemma to East Africa

Written by Natalie Teng and Halle Ichiuji

Sven Torfinn/FAO via AP

Locust Background Guide

A second wave of locusts is hitting East Africa, just as farmers have planted their crops and amidst a global pandemic, that officials say to be twenty times worse than the first. The locusts come just two months after the worst swarm of locusts in the area in over seventy years (Guardian). In an interview with the Associated Press, Uganda farmer Yoweri Aboket said, “Once [the locusts] land in your garden they do total destruction. Some people will even tell you that the locusts are more destructive than the coronavirus” (AP).

Most of the time, locusts are solitary creatures, but under the right circumstances, enter a gregarious phase that causes them to seek other locusts and to form massive and destructive swarms. In a single day, a single locust can eat its weight in plants and travel up to ninety miles. On that same day, a swarm of locusts covering just a third of a square mile can devour the crops needed to feed 35,000 people (Guardian). Some of the largest swarms can cover up to 460 square miles, or about twice the size of San Francisco (National Geographic). The locusts currently infesting East Africa were thought to have originated in the Empty Quarter, a sparsely populated desert region on the Arabian Peninsula. In a span of just 18 months, beginning in May 2018, three cyclones hit the area, providing the ideal conditions for the locusts to breed and jump over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into the Horn of Africa. With each generation, the swarms increase exponentially in size and volume. As locusts have a short breeding cycle of about just three months, they have already multiplied by a factor of 8000 since the first cyclone, and estimates suggest by June, they will have increased by another 400-fold from current numbers (National Geographic). With the rainy season hitting the region now, the situation is almost assuredly going to worsen. A third outbreak of locusts is expected to hit Africa in biblical proportions this summer.

“While the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the United Nations food agency warned on Tuesday that a looming ‘hunger pandemic’ will bring ‘the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II’” 

- Linda Givetash, NBC News

The locusts and their voracious eating habits in this region are deeply concerning, as massive crop losses will lead to mass starvation and economic hardship. If the current crop, which has just been planted, fails because of the locust swarms, then it could wreak havoc on a region extremely vulnerable to famine. According to FAO, more than 13 million people in the Horn of Africa experience “severe acute food insecurity” with an additional 20 million barely above this threshold (National Geographic). Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that an additional 130 million people could be facing starvation by the end of this year (NBC News). In many villages, residents must choose between going outside to try to scare away the locusts and risk becoming a vehicle for the virus, or complying with lockdown orders and watching their food supply being devoured by the locusts (AP). The decrease in crops and food supply potentially has economic implications as well: inflation and the depreciation of currency in the region. This is concerning, as Vincent Phriri, an economist at NKC Afrikan Economics noted in an interview with CNBC, because a depreciation would “[pose] significant risks to public debt sustainability, as most East African countries already have considerable external debt stocks and have to pay down that debt in foreign currency, meaning that depreciating currencies make debt more unsustainable” (CNBC). The combination of locust and coronavirus provides a destabilizing environment for the states in the region.

Countries in the region are strapped for the necessary supplies and materials needed to combat locusts of this size and volume. Many countries are finding it difficult to acquire much-needed pesticides and supplies of personal protective equipment, as travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus are delaying the deliveries and preventing experts from traveling to train people on how to deal with the locusts (AP). Somalia's March order of pesticides has been delayed, leaving no resources to fight the locusts (Left Voice). Not only are these countries lacking pesticides, but also in a sufficient number aircrafts, as aerial spraying is one of the most effective techniques to fight the infestation (BBC). Helicopter surveillance to locate locust swarms have also been hampered by mandatory lockdowns in Kenya where pilots were quarantined for 14 days due to the coronavirus (Left Voice). The region will most likely need to be dependent on international support to weather the swarms and the destruction they leave in their wake. However, with the coronavirus, the locust issue will have trouble receiving enough global attention and humanitarian aid (Wired). If response to the situation is too far delayed, the spread of locust swarms show no sign of slowing until all the food and crops in the area have been devoured, the same food and crops that sustain the farmers and residents in the area.

Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people will face food shortages and economic catastrophe. This plays to the interconnectedness of global problems and their impact on economic development (VI.E), as not only is the pandemic going to staunch the economy, but it has also inadvertently slowed the response to the locusts through lockdowns and travel bans, and inevitable enabled a further spread of the swarms and additional economic losses. While not to detract from the severity of the coronavirus, intergovernmental agencies are currently pouring more money into wealthier states than poorer ones addled with additional debilitating issues, such as those in East Africa, relating to the theme of to what extent these organizations serve the interests of the global elite rather than of humanity (II.F). Without the financial assistance from wealthy nations and the aid from humanitarian organizations, the people of Africa will suffer from severe food shortages when the locust plague destroys their crops. With Africa’s international debt, wealthy nations have a vested interest in Africa’s economic stability. Historically, humanitarian aid from organizations, such as WHO and FAO, have come to Africa’s aid during a time of crisis and inevitably protected the financial interests of the global elite. The locust plague combined with the coronavirus highlights the need for developed nations to commit to helping African countries attain economic stability, thus ending international dependency.

Discussion Questions

1. How much funding and attention should be allocated to combatting the locusts in this region amidst a global pandemic? 
2. Why might countries be reluctant to provide aid to others in today’s age?
3. How has African nations’ dependence on international support helped perpetrate this issue?