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Locust Watch in Caucasus and Central Asia

Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)

The Programme to improve national and regional locust management has been implemented since October 2011 to the benefit of ten countries, namely Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It is based on the key concepts of locust preventive control strategy, which relies on:

  • Regional cooperation
  • Early warning based on regular monitoring
  • Early reaction with advanced control techniques and due attention to human health and environmental aspects

The Programme’s overall objective is to reduce occurrence and intensity of locust outbreaks in CCA, thus limiting threat or damage to crops and rangelands and safeguarding rural population food security and livelihoods, as well as minimizing impact of chemical control operations on human health and the environment. To do so, the immediate objective is to improve locust management in CCA by promoting regional cooperation and strengthening national capacities.

The multi-funded FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia” has been implemented thanks to contributions from a number of partners, including Japan/ Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Turkey (under the FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme -FTPP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), as well as FAO resources (Technical Cooperation Programme -TCP- and Regular Programme).

What has been achieved?

  • Thanks to effective regional cooperation and results achieved, CCA countries are now better equipped to address locust threat.
  • They fully cover their survey and control campaigns against their national budgets, including when facing such high infestations, such as recently - requiring treatments of 4.2 million ha in CCA in 2024. Countries have managed and decreased infestations in 2025 and 2026 based on intensive work and thanks to strengthened capacities.
  • Locusts remain a priority in the region, with high engagement at country level.
  • The situation differs across countries and thematic areas, calling for consolidation of some of the achievements, customized according to the specific situation of each country. Besides technological advancements throughout the past years need scaling up.

The way forward

  • Three strategic directions have been identified together with countries for the way forward, all concurring to the locust preventive strategy: 
    • Sustaining regional cooperation, including by institutionalizing it (permanent body - see Factsheet)
    • Supporting and expanding effective monitoring and early warning systems
    • Promoting further advanced technologies and safer locust control

     

  • Strategic resource allocation, effort prioritization and partners support are essential to capitalize on the momentum built, especially under the changing climate context.
  • It should allow consolidation of some aspects, as the situation can differ across countries and thematic areas, as well as scaling up the achievements on new aspects, especially on:
    •  Use of new tools to enhance monitoring and early warning systems, including AI
    • Use of advanced and safer technologies for locust control, including drones, biopesticides

 

  • Field-wise, a total of 39 joint or cross-border surveys, involving 467 Locust Experts from the ten countries between 2011 and 2026, have allowed the joint collection of data  and evaluation of the locust situation in border areas, thus contributing adopting timely actions and protecting crops and rangelands while greatly reducing tensions regarding the sources of locust invasions and building the regional network of technical experts – this was also a key aspect of the Programme.
  • Strengthening of human capacities, with a total of nearly 4000 Experts trained on a wide range of locust-related topics, through successful Training-of-Trainers and more than 200 regional, national and briefing sessions as well as 11 internships on locust management organized in performing Anti-Locust Centers outside CCA.
  • Two monographs, three Practical Guidelines – on the three locust pests in CCA, on locust monitoring in CCA, and on pesticide risk reduction associated to locust control in CCA – as well as 13 posters on Moroccan, Italian and Asian Migratory Locust have been published and dispatched, in the Programme language, English and Russian, as well as, for most of them, in national languages.
  • Strengthening of operational capacities, contributing to equip the field teams with essential equipment to conduct their work in harsh field conditions, including transportation means (72 vehicles and 62 motorbikes), sprayers (nearly 900) and other equipment for locust survey and control as well as for human health and environmental monitoring.
  • A crucial result has been the development of digital monitoring and analyzing tools from the ground to the benefit of the ten countries, including:

- the Automated System for Data Collection (ASDC), available in 11 languages and allowing operators to collect data in the field and send them in real-time to central server.

- the locust Geographical Information System (GIS) in CCA, entitled “Caucasus and Central Asia Locust Management System” (CCALM), fed by digital ground data (ASDC) as well as meteorological and satellite data.

  • Promotion of updated control methods and spraying techniques, following a review of pesticides registered and frequently used against locusts in CCA (2012 and 2022), in particular the Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) technology, which is worldwide recognized as the most efficient one for locust control.
  • Introduction of biopesticides, which have none to little negative impact on human health and the environment, with regional demonstrations involving all ten countries in 2023 and national ones in six countries from 2024 to 2026 – such initial and promising steps are a breakthrough of the Programme.
  • National integral systems for human health and environmental monitoring of locust control operations were developed in Tajikistan (2014), Kyrgyzstan (2015), Azerbaijan (2017), Georgia (2019), Turkmenistan (2022) and Uzbekistan (2023). As a result, Human Health and Environmental Monitoring Teams were set up in those six countries, for the first time ever in CCA. Other activities aiming at reducing risks of control operations on human health and the environment were also undertaken, including the critical review of management of pesticides and empty containers, with formulation of related recommendations, thus offering a basis for further steps.

The Programme was officially launched in October 2011, in response to official requests for assistance received by FAO from CCA countries. It includes the six following expected results, covering all aspects related to locust management:

  • Result 1 - Regional cooperation developed
  • Result 2 - National capacities strengthened
  • Result 3 - Locust issues and disasters better anticipated and mitigated
  • Result 4 - Improved response mechanisms to locust outbreaks
  • Result 5 - Impact on human health and the environment mitigated and monitored
  • Result 6 - Public information and awareness increased

The Programme is implemented on the basis of the Roadmap that was endorsed by the ten CCA countries and is completed by the annual workplans established on a consensual basis during the annual workshops and taking into account countries’ needs and available funds/projects.

This multi-funded Programme has been and is implemented thanks to different projects and partners, including: USAID, which allowed Programme start in 2011 and supported it until January 2025; Japan/JICA, which has provided the main support for Central Asia from 2015 to 2026; Turkey (under the FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme -FTPP) in 2025-2019; and FAO (Regular Programme and Technical Cooperation Programme-TCP), through national or sub-regional projects targeting all or some of the ten countries.