While harvest was expected to be better this year in the Horn of Africa thanks to good rainfall, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sounded the alarm on a possible invasion of Desert Locust.

According to the organization, these insects are already ravaging crops in Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. In the last two nations, the pests have already destroyed 70,000 hectares of agricultural land.

“All efforts are required by national authorities to undertake regular surveys, timely reporting, and efficient control, and to upscale these activities in the coming weeks and months,” FAO said. Aerial and ground control operations in Sudan have resulted in the treatment of more than 12,000 hectares in the first half of December.  

As a reminder, locusts can travel up to 150 km a day and a locust cloud can destroy a volume that can feed up to 2,500 people in a year, FAO said.