Locusts damage 50,000 hectares of cropland in Namibia

African migratory locusts (AML) have damaged at least 50 000 hectares of cropland in Namibia

The Zambezi region was the first part of the country to experience an outbreak of locusts which later affected farmers in nine of the 10 crop producing regions in Namibia February last year.

By that time a second invasion had hit the nine regions and more than 500 km2 had been attacked.

To date, the ministry’s spraying team has covered 20 000 hectares and they are planning to cover more because their surveillance area is about 300 000 hectares. The ground covered does, however, depend on the swarm clusters as the population increases.

In Kavango East and Kavango West, a total of 340 hectares have been covered of which 270 hectares are of the green schemes, mainly at Shitemo, Ndonga Linena, Uvhungu-Vhungu and Sikondo as well as 70 hectares within the community.

Furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) early last year warned that the outbreaks are threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of people in southern Africa.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), about 2,3 million people in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia are already facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3) and are likely to be seriously impacted by the locust invasion.

The AML is a trans-boundary pest capable of flying long distances and severely affecting crops, pastures as well as food security, nutrition and livelihoods.

The ministry’s spraying teams late last year had problems after neighbouring countries sprayed their fields as the locusts migrated from one country to the other and Nutrition Security Working Group (FSNWG).