LOCUST ALERT FOR NORTH AFRICA

October 23, 2012

"They shall cover the surface of the soil so thick, that the soil will not be seen. They shall devour the remainder that is left to you, all that has survived from the hail; they shall devour all your trees growing in the fields; they shall fill your palaces, the houses of your courtiers... Your forefathers and their ancestors will never have seen the like, since first they lived in the country."

Thus does the Book of Exodus describe the coming of the eighth plague. Now the United Nations warns of a a similar plague that may grip North Africa in the coming weeks. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has issued a press statement highlighting the threat:

"Prevailing winds and historical precedents make it likely the swarms, once formed, will fly to Algeria, Libya, southern Morocco and north-western Mauritania. Once there, they could damage pastures and subsistence rain-fed crops. They could also pose a threat to harvests in Chad, Mali and Niger."

The cause is a 250-fold increase in locust numbers owing to favourable rains and breeding conditions over the summer, that have seen two generations multiply exponentially in the Sahel region. The statement noted that tens of millions were forming and urged the northern African states to mobilize their forces in order to try to contain the damage. The FAO is also trying to raise $6 million to help support the defence effort, which has already started via spraying and other preventative methods.

Swarms can cover over a thousand kilometres in a week and each locust can consume the equivalent of its own body weight - approximately two grams - in a single day, resulting in a calamitous devastation of crops that would otherwise feed hundreds of thousands of people.

Many North Africans have already suffered bereavement through civil wars, as well as the darkness of unenlightened rulers: the last thing they need is another plague.