Algeria, Mauritania plan joint war on locusts

2009-11-11

Algerian teams are on the alert for locust infiltration in the country's southern areas, and other personnel will collaborate with colleagues in Mauritania to stamp out the destructive insects.

By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 11/11/09

[Walid Ramzi] Algeria's minister of agriculture, Rachid Benaissa, is working to co-ordinate locust eradication efforts with Mauritania.

Algeria plans to dispatch four locust monitoring teams to the country's southern areas to stave off a potential invasion of the insects next spring, and other teams will head to Mauritania for joint pest-eradication efforts.

The teams will work in conjunction with the National Institute for Plant Protection to patrol regions along the Niger and Mali borders that serve as natural breeding grounds for locusts, Agriculture Minister Rachid Benaissa said in a press release dated Thursday (November 5th). Satellite images will also be used to scan the areas for locust resurgence. Authorities may also implement new pest-eradication guidelines to further prevent the spread of locusts.

"Algeria has the necessary resources to face migrant locusts, in terms of the human teams that are combing the southern areas, or the material resources and equipment," said Khaled Momen, who heads the National Institute for Plant Protection.

"The Ministry of Defence has placed 24 choppers at the disposal of the teams, in addition to other equipment to be supplied by an Algerian company," he added.

Farmers in some southern areas are concerned that locusts might invade the country this February if the teams fail in their mission. These farmers suffered serious losses from previous locust invasions that drove many to abandon agriculture altogether.

Teams will also be sent to Mauritania to help monitor and control the locusts. A small outbreak of desert locusts was recorded in western Mauritania in early October, though officials expect the insects to be fully contained by early December, barring heavy rains.

"Migrating locusts are currently located in central and southern Mauritania and may move to the northern areas if the weather allows it," said Momen. "Mauritania has mobilised resources to counter that problem, as opposed to what happened four years ago. Mauritania has dedicated 22 teams and managed to cover 4,000 hectares so far."

In 2003 and 2004, Mauritania and other Sahel nations had to devote enormous sums of money to combating clouds of locusts that descended on their countries after heavy rains turned desert areas green, inviting four generations of locusts to hatch and swarm. Although Algeria sent two locust-tracking teams to assist their southern neighbour, they could not prevent disaster. The infestations hit Mauritania the hardest, costing it 1.6 million hectares of farmland and up to $83 million in damage.

Algeria and Morocco managed to avoid full-scale agricultural devastation by the 2003-2004 locust attack, owing to a combination of dry weather and costly anti-locust treatment programmes to keep the insects at bay. Four insect-monitoring teams mobilised quickly at the behest of the Algerian Authority for Combating Locusts. They covered more than 2,650 hectares, while teams launched by the National Intervention Authority successfully tracked and prevented the encroachment of locusts on 121,000 hectares.