Madagascar is in a race against time to raise enough money to tackle its worst plague of locusts since the 1950s.
Locusts have already infested over half of the island’s cultivated land and pastures, causing the loss of 630,000 tonnes of rice, corresponding to 25% of food consumption.
At least 1.5m hectares could be infested by locusts in two-thirds of the country by September, warns the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The food security and livelihoods of 13 million people are at stake.
“We don’t have enough funds for pesticide, helicopters and training,” said an FAO representative. “We need $22.4m but we are quite short of that. Discussions are going on with donors.”
