Key messages

• Despite control efforts, cross-border movements of immature swarms along the borders of Kenya and Somalia are ongoing. Swarms that formed in Somalia are now moving into Ethiopia through Aysha.
• Hopper bands and a new generation of immature swarms are forming in the Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' (SNNP) regions, including the Rift Valley – the nation’s breadbasket.
• Desert locusts are currently active in 161 woredas, down from 172 in February 2020.
• Unless properly controlled, the locust invasion will cause large-scale crop, pasture, and forest-cover loss, worsening food and feed insecurity, especially in areas emerging from recurrent El Niño-induced drought.
• Around 8.5 million people in Ethiopia are already in severe acute food insecurity and in need of humanitarian assistance (IPC, 2019). Of these, over 6 million live in areas currently experiencing a desert locust upsurge.
• A critical season has started for pastoralists and households relying on short rains (February–May) for crop production in the country. Hopper production poses a threat to pasture and crops planted during the belg season in southern Ethiopia and in the Somali region.