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"Desert Locust Threat" Campaign to Protect Sudan's Crops and Pastures
FAO’s Senior Desert Locust Forecaster Keith Cressman has warned that a second generation of desert locust swarms could ravage Sudan’s spring and summer crops and pastures this year if urgent control measures aren’t carried out.

Mr. Cressman from FAO’s Headquarters in Rome took part in a joint mission by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Plant Protection Directorate this month and found evidence of substantial locust egg laying and hatching over a 1,000 kilometre stretch of the Nile from Wadi Halfa in Northern State to Atbara in River Nile State.

Hatching began in mid-to-late March and hoppers (black, wingless nymphs) are grouping together to form small but dense patches and bands. There are approximately 70 eggs in a locust’s egg pod, and an estimated 500 egg pods per square metre so there is real potential for the current situation to intensify.

The eggs were laid by swarms that reached the Nile Valley in February. Those swarms were successfully controlled by extensive ground and air spraying efforts by the PPD resulting in negligible crop damage.

Urgent control operations are being launched by the PPD to control the hoppers before they can become immature flying locusts. At the immature stage, desert locusts can consume their body weight in food meaning large swarms could easily destroy crops and pastures. The FAO Representative a.i. Mr Charles Agobia has warned of an imminent food insecurity emergency if the desert locust threat isn’t controlled.

In the northeast, few locusts remain on the Red Sea coast or near the Egypt border. As an indication of the scale of Sudan’s efforts, the PPD sprayed 181,000 hectares of land between September last year and now compared to 45,000 hectares sprayed in Saudi Arabia and 40,000 hectares in Egypt during the same period. The majority of the region’s control operations took place in February this year. monitored which will in turn assist federal decision making.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with the Government of Sudan’s Food Security Technical Secretariat which was established under the SIFSIA programme and which has responsibility for food security data collection in Sudan.

The programme will run for the next three years.
The former Chief Technical Advisor for the completed Sudan Productive Capacity Recovery Programme-Capacity Building (SPCRP-CB) and the current Acting FAO Representative Mr Charles Agobia is leading the new programme team.FAO has secured almost $US 1 million to help Sudan fight the current locust threat.

Saudi Arabia is contributing $US 400,000, FAO’s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC) is contributing $US 75,000 and FAO will mobilize from its own resources up to $US 500,000.

FAO’s Financial Support
FAO has announced that it has secured almost $US 1 million to help Sudan combat desert locusts in River Nile and Northern states. The announcement was made this month by FAO Representative a.i. Mr. Charles Agobia at a joint media conference with the Federal Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Dr. Abdul-Halim Ismail Al-Mutaa’fi at the Sudan Media Centre in Khartoum.

FAO’s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC) secured the financial contributions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is contributing $US 400,000, the CRC’s Emergency Trust is contributing $US 75,000 and FAO will mobilize from its own resources up to $US 500,000. The assistance is to address the immediate needs of the current control campaign.

Dr. Al-Mutaa’fi thanked FAO for the support and said he wants to continue Sudan’s close partnership with FAO. He also requested the support of other donor nations and partners to assist Sudan at this critical time.
As an indication of the scale of Sudan’s efforts so far, the PPD sprayed 181,000 hectares of land between September last year and now compared to 45,000 hectares sprayed in Saudi Arabia and 40,000 hectares in Egypt during the same period. The majority of the region’s control operations took place in February this year.
 

Sudan Vision Daily - 04, Apr 2013
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