Billions of locusts have been swarming through East Africa, particularly Kenya, which saw the worst outbreak in 70 years. They spread from Ethiopia and Somalia. The massive swarms entered Kenya in December and tore through pastureland in the north and centre of the country. Left unchecked, locust numbers could increase 500 times by this June, spreading to Uganda and South Sudan. It could become a plague that will devastate crops and pasture in a region which is already hit by series of droughts and floods. This could lead to a major food security problem, says the UN. The FAO says the current invasion is known as an “upsurge” – when an entire region is affected. However, if it gets worse and cannot be contained, over a year or more, it would become which is known as a “plague” of locusts.
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