“Locust Swarms in Morocco: Latest Updates and Impacts on Agriculture”

2023-05-14 10:38:04

Are the locust swarms back in Morocco? The answer seems affirmative in view of the videos that have recently circulated on social networks, illustrating agricultural fields of Oued Drâa teeming with flying insects. According to the latest FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) bulletin, published on May 2, 2023, on the general situation of the locust control in April 2023 and the forecast until mid- In June, “small groups, bands and groups of adults” were reported south of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and in the Moroccan Sahara.

The bulletin, which is published monthly by FAO’s Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS), also states that the total area treated in Morocco in recent weeks against these potentially destructive insects has raised to almost 4009 hectares. “Young and immature adults, and perhaps a few groups, will be present in May”, in the same area, FAO experts also announced.

Damage in corn fields

“Teams that are working to treat the land have been mobilized for more than a month already in the Oued Drâa region,” says Ahmed Bouzihay, president of the Territorial Commune of Fam El Hisn, Province of Tata. “Unfortunately, this did not limit the spread of the insect. I think this is mainly due to the fact that certain military or border areas where access is restricted could not be treated, which allowed the insect to proliferate there before moving elsewhere, ”continues the same source. On site, the agricultural fields that have been most affected by the phenomenon are local corn crops. “For the moment, no provision has been made to support or compensate farmers whose land has suffered the ravages of the swarms of locusts. Many of them are currently in a very difficult situation in view of the damage they have just suffered, and this, after a period already precarious by the succession of years of drought”, underlines Mr. Bouzihay.

Oases under threat?

If in the region of Oued Drâa, the climatic conditions and the situation of the vegetation cover are clearly favorable to the proliferation of the desert locust, the swarms have not yet moved towards the oasis zones. “In Fam El Hisn, we are about forty kilometers from the Oued and the damage inflicted by the locust is still relatively limited. That said, it is very important that all relevant stakeholders redouble their efforts and deploy more resources to ensure that the spread of locust groups does not extend beyond their current area of ​​presence so that they cannot not threaten oasis areas, like the invasion that the region experienced in 2004 and during which the locust was able to reach the regions of Taroudant and Agadir”, explains our interlocutor. The strengthening of locust control efforts is also confirmed in the region since the authorities concerned will mobilize greater resources, in particular treatment by aerial spraying.

What to expect?

“Even during the day of Eid, when everyone was enjoying family celebrations, the locust control teams were mobilized and continued to treat the land”, testifies Ahmed Bouzihay. Should we expect the situation to worsen? The FAO bulletin affirms the opposite since it is classified at the lowest level of alert, and indicates that the situation in Morocco should experience “no significant development”. “During the forecast period (until mid-June 2023, editor’s note), vegetation will begin to dry out and new immature adults will form small groups and move southwards”, specifies the report which augurs however that before this move, “the number of young adults will increase in May in the Draa and Ziz-Ghris valleys south of the Atlas Mountains” while “scattered adults could (temporarily, editor’s note) remain in parts of the ‘Adrar Settouf’. To be continued…

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