Battle Against Desert Locusts Gets $500 Million Boost From World Bank
INTERNATIONAL – The World Bank approved $500 million to help fight the worst desert-locust invasion in decades that’s threatening food security in parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Countries including Ethiopia Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Yemen face a second wave of locust swarms from June. Failure to combat the pests in the Horn of Africa and Yemen could result in crop and livestock losses of as much as $8.5 billion by year-end, according to the World Bank. The lender estimates the intervention could limit the damage to $2.5 billion.
Anxiety over the locust swarms, able to quickly consume square kilometers of crop, grew as the coronavirus pandemic emerged and decimated economies, further stretching governments.
Source: iol.co.za
