ADDIS ABABA – The Ethiopian government announced that it has been cooperating with East African nations in the fight against desert locust swarm which has posed potential threat to the sub-region.
In a press conference held yesterday, Zebdiyos Salato, Plant Protection Director at Ministry of Agriculture said that in order to tackle the swarm, the government has also been working with Desert Locust Control Organization for East Africa.
Currently, the desert locust is affecting some parts of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland, Uganda and Kenya.
Right from the outbreak, the East African nations have been coordinating efforts though capacity limitations has remained to pose challenges to the teamwork, he added.
Explaining damages, Girmame Geruma, Agricultural Extension Director General at the Ministry said: “The locust swarm has not significantly harmed crop production, but degraded forests and grazing lands.”
He said that the Ethiopian government has been using four aircrafts to block locust swarm from entrance. “We used about 38 thousand litters of chemicals,” he added.
The Ethiopian Harald January 24/2020
BY YESUF ENDRIS
