Locust Swarms Threaten Morocco as UN Warns of North African Invasion

Based on data collected on the movement of desert locust swarms, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects an invasion of North Africa, including Morocco, for the third quarter of 2020. A severe drought would justify their migration to this region, even if Gahdab Chakali, professor of zoology, claims that heavy rainfall can ward off the danger for a while, reports the Algerian newspaper El Watan.

The desert locusts, Daucus and Laucusta, are two dangerous species that ravage all crops in their path, constituting a serious threat to agriculture, warns the agroeconomist, Zoubir Sahli. He recommends that countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Mauritania, which will be the target of these locusts in the coming weeks, take measures to counter the danger. Desert locusts attack major crops such as cereals, industrial crops, legumes, fruit trees, date palms and vegetables.

For the professor of zoology, Chakali Gahdab, these locusts pose a real danger to agriculture in North Africa. The swarms may also move to semi-arid areas, while devastating agricultural areas and even natural and introduced pastoral species, he continued. However, he warns that the danger is not averted, because we are witnessing climate change that can have repercussions on the locusts’ occupation strategy.

According to Chakali, a locust invasion would further increase desertification, with consequences on the primary productivity of grass and setbacks on the economy of households. Morocco and the other Maghreb countries must invest in the use of pesticides which, despite its drawbacks, remains the most appropriate action in the context of locust invasions. A monitoring system is essential for a fight against locusts on a Maghreb and Saharan scale, he will say.