The new equipment were transferred to Kakheti region and tested under field conditions. This is part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)'s ongoing programme on locust management in the Caucasus and Central Asia implemented with USAID financial assistance. The equipment include four vehicles, entomological kits, binoculars, GPS, tablets, and computers, among others. 

Lack of appropriate locust monitoring and preparedness has been identified as major constraints that affect desert locust management. Other challenges include inaccessibility of some regions by vehicles or field officers due to lack of roads, difficult terrains, and insecurity.

Modern technology has much to offer for effective desert locust monitoring and control. This includes surveillance drones and their accompanying infrastructure technology, such as the system for data collection in the field and RAMSES (Reconnaissance And Management System of the Environment of Schistocerca), which is a custom software application comprising a database and a Geographic Information System (GIS) that stores the georeferenced results of survey and control operations.

In response to the outbreak of the coconut rhinoceros beetle in Majuro, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has taken action to mitigate the impact of the pest on food security and the livelihoods of the population.

The Marshall Islands government declared a state of emergency after discovering the beetle on the islands in September 2023.  

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) delivered a module on locust morphology and taxonomy to students of the master’s in Acridology at the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (IAV) in Agadir, Morocco.

The course aimed to reinforce the knowledge of the first-year master’s students on the morphological features of insects, with a focus on acridids (locusts and grasshoppers) so that they can identify them at different stages of their development. The two-year master's programme will equip the field technicians with skills to implement sustainable preventive measures against locusts. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted intensive training in desert locust survey and reporting for locust officers from Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia. This training was a follow up of a regional Training of Trainers course on desert locust survey and reporting techniques held last year.

 

When the desert locust upsurge of 2019–2022 occurred in Kenya, Esbon Agira, was deployed as a base manager in Marsabit County, north of the country. His work involved surveying desert locusts and provided information to the locust control operation teams. “Before the desert locust invasion, we were not prepared as a country. The last time Kenya faced the locust invasion of that magnitude was 70 years ago. There were thus no dedicated experts in desert locust management, and we lacked appropriate equipment and adequate pesticides to conduct control operations,” says Esbon.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has announced the official launch of SusaHamra, a new mobile application and online platform designed to combat the devastating Red Palm Weevil (RPW). This pioneering system marks a significant step forward in the fight against this invasive pest that threatens date palms, coconut palms, and ornamental palms worldwide.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is conducting a 5-day training workshop for technical officers in charge of desert locust control from East Africa and the Middle East, aimed to enhance preparedness of their countries to effectively respond to desert locust outbreaks and invasions.

Participants to the desert locust contingency planning workshop have been drawn from both breeding and invasion countries, and these include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Somalia, Syria, and Uganda. 

Continuous communication should be maintained during recession and locust crisis periods to increase awareness and mitigate impacts and protect livelihoods. The message was echoed at the just concluded Communication training workshop for Communication focal points from Algeria...