Locusts and Grasshoppers are the same in appearance, but Locusts can exist in two different behavioural states (solitary and gregarious), whereas most grasshoppers do not. When the population density is low, locusts behave as individuals, much like grasshoppers. But when they are in swarms, they can be very destructive. Farmers detest locusts. The desert locust is a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper. Plagues of desert locusts have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly rapidly across great distances. Currently, there is a locust infestation in the Horn of Africa. The swarms emerged in Yemen during 2019 summer. Since then, they swarms had poured into northern Kenya.
This has spread to the eastern part of Kenya. Farmers are afraid they may lose all their crops if the locusts are not wiped out. The locust infestation has also affected several states in Ethiopia and Somalia and some farmers have lost nearly all their crops – up to 100% in some cases.
In order to maintain and assure populations of food security, the need to embark on the aerial spraying of pesticides cannot be overemphasized. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization, nations in the Horn of Africa and East Africa would require nothing less than $70 million to fight locust invasion plaguing the region.
