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Desert locust upsurge | Global Response Plan, January–December 2020

Appeal for rapid response and anticipatory action










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    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    West Africa | Desert locust crisis appeal, May–December 2020
    Anticipatory action and rapid response
    2020
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    Recent forecasts by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have indicated a risk of locust invasion in West Africa from June 2020. From East Africa, some swarms could reach the eastern part of the Sahel and continue westwards from Chad to Mauritania. Surveillance and control teams will be mobilized across the region with a focus on Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and the Niger, and extended to Senegal. Countries such as Cameroon, the Gambia and Nigeria are also on watch in the event that desert locust spreads to these highly acute food-insecure countries. Since the region could be threatened in the coming months, FAO is strongly encouraging no regret investments in preparedness and anticipatory action to control swarms and safeguard livelihoods, given already high levels of acute food insecurity. Therefore, cost estimates for preparedness, anticipatory action and rapid response have been assessed. FAO’s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region and FAO’s subregional resilience team for West Africa and the Sahel are already working together with potentially affected countries for the implementation of anticipatory actions, such as training, pre-positioning of resources, initiating surveillance activities and control operations. The countries of the subregion most exposed to the threat of a locust invasion are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger and Senegal. All of these countries are already facing the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which presents significant further risks to food security. Applying lessons from the 2003–2005 desert locust upsurge in West Africa and from the implementation of resilience programmes in the region, including its Early Warning Early Action approach, FAO is focusing on anticipatory action to avert a full blown food crisis, mainly by: scaling up support to governments to monitor and control the pest; and safeguarding livelihood interventions.
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    Booklet
    Southwest Asia | Desert locust crisis appeal, May–December 2020
    Rapid response and scaled-up action
    2020
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    The desert locust crisis appeal for Southwest Asia details the funding needed by FAO to combat this destructive pest that is threatening countries across the region, and Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in particular. The appeal outlines the control measures planned and taken so far, as well as the longer-term response planned for safeguarding the means of survival of millions of vulnerable people who could be affected, particularly with the compounding impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions this will likely incur for the Organization's humanitarian assistance.
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    Booklet
    Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen | Desert locust crisis appeal, January–December 2020
    Rapid response and sustained action, revised version
    2020
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    The worst desert locust outbreak in decades is underway in the Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen, where tens of thousands of hectares of cropland and pasture have been damaged in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, the Sudan, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen, with potentially severe consequences for agriculture-based livelihoods in contexts where food security is already fragile. Highly mobile and capable of stripping an area’s vegetation, even a very small locust swarm can eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35 000 people. Intensive ground and aerial control operations are urgently needed (in addition to diligent surveillance) in order to detect and reduce locust populations, prevent more swarms from forming and avoid the spread to more countries. If swarms continue unhindered, this will have serious implications on crop production in the upcoming main season across the entire region. Efforts must also be made to protect the livelihoods of farmers and livestock holders – ensuring they have the inputs they need to restart production and have access to much-needed cash to meet their immediate food needs. FAO urgently requires USD 231.64 million to support rapid control actions and take measures to prevent a deterioration in the food security situation and safeguard livelihoods.

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