Desert Locust Management. A Time for Change

Plagues of the desert locust are occurring, on average, one year in every six. Highly mobile swarms may then threaten a vast territory streching from Mauritania to India, and Turkmenistan to Tanzania. In the last ten years two major upsurges have occurred. Development agencies including the World Bank have assisted the control efforts of affected countries; financial assistance totaled some US$383 million over this period. This paper highlights a number of issues associated with these operations. One key question concerns the extent to which the rationale for control is based on a realistic assessment of the risks posed to agricultural production and livelihoods. At the same time, it appears that a lack of preparedness on the part of all major actors is contributing to the 'emergency' status of control operations. When operations are undertaken it is not clear that an effective technical strategy currently exists, or is being employed, given logistical, institutional and resource constraints. This is contribuitng to inefficiencies and increased environmental costs. Moreover, sustainable capacity is not being developed in most of the affected countries and donor dependence is high.