Good new agency

Rome 20 September - To stop the spread of the desert locust the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has approved USD 1.55 million in grants. The 12 grants will also help to form the basis for longer-term solutions to prevent future attacks. So far, emergency efforts to spray locust-infested fields have not been sufficient to contain the large swarms sweeping across more than ten countries in northern and western Africa, devouring crops and grasses. (…)

Ten of the twelve grants will provide immediate assistance to train personnel, pay for supplies and equip laboratories in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Sudan. Another two grants, totalling USD 0.5 million, will be used to continue efforts to offer long-term solutions to recurring outbreaks of desert locusts throughout Africa.

Since the 1980s, IFAD has worked along with its United Nations partners, especially the Food and Agriculture Organization, to test biologically-friendly control methods that treat locust invasions while protecting the health of livestock and the environment. Pheromones are used to disorient the locusts, preventing them from swarming. Another safe option, the naturally occurring fungus Metarhizium, is sprayed on locusts, invading them and killing them within one to two weeks. (…)

http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2004/30.htm