The locust plagues that have devoured the vegetation in some East African countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya has spread over to their neighbouring countries, Uganda and South Sudan.
Millions of people in South Sudan are currently facing hunger, about 60% of the population, seeing as the country just emerged from a civil war from their former president/dictator, Omar al-Bashir.
According to the United Nations, East Africa could likely experience a food crisis if the locust is not brought under control as soon as possible.
Mike Pompeo, United States Secretary of States pledged to help fight the plague and is donating the sum of $8million during his visit to Africa last week. South Sudan Agricultural Minister, Onyoti Adigo Nyikuac said that the government was currently training people how to spray the chemicals properly.
A university in Germany called the University of Halle has also been researching the behaviour of locust for over a decade under the supervision of Professor. Hans-Jorg Ferenz. Their research produced some findings but not enough to put a stop to locust infestations.
Some of Prof. Hans-Jorg Ferenz findings are;
- · Locust doesn’t swarm under the 19oC.
- · The greener the vegetation, the greater the danger of locust swarms as soon as the rain comes.
- · The Locusts release a scent that is a signal to other locusts to begin laying waste to the vegetations. The scent is called Phenylacetonitrile, also called PAN for short.
- · Professor. Hans-Jorg Ferenz has been able to develop a scent similar to the hormone the Locust release for mating which helps them multiply.
In his findings, Ferenz discovered that once a male locust releases this scented hormone on a female locust, every other male locust keeps their distance from the locust. If they can spray the manipulated hormone on female locusts before they start swarming, it would stop them from mating and multiplying, which would make them easier to control.
