The alarm went off a few minutes ago, before the morning call to prayer. It is now a quarter past five and still pitch-black outside. Miles Woodgate is eating breakfast and getting ready for the long day ahead fighting Desert Locusts. This Englishman is one of the pilots conducting aerial spraying in the easternmost country of the Horn of Africa -- the first time in 30 years that the security situation has allowed for this to happen in Somalia. Together with the rest of the crew of Guardian Helicopters, a company hired by FAO to help in Somalia’s anti-locust campaign, Miles is going to be picked up at 6.00 at the hotel to make their way to the airport.
“We got on the road a month ago. Within that month, the aircrafts have been flown from the [United] States [of America]. We reassembled them in Nairobi (Kenya), flew to Mogadishu (Somalia) and we are up here now in Garowe (Puntland State of Somalia), and we have been spraying for the last two weeks,” recalls Miles. “Especially with the [delays because of the] COVID-19 situation and the difficulty in getting here, it is quite amazing how it has all been pulled together,” he adds.
First on the agenda is the regular morning briefing with the team, FAO experts and Government officials at the airport. “The day is actually organized by a phone call from Dr Hared in the evening before the flying day,” explains Miles. Dr Hared Nur is a Somali Desert Locust expert working with FAO to coordinate the locust control operations in Puntland and Galmudug. Based on the information received the night before from ground spotters, targets for the day are set.