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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 10, No. 3

Publication Date: June 25, 2022

DOI:10.14738/aivp.103.11936. Yuga. M. E., & Wani, P. (2022). Assessing the Impact of Desert Locust Infestation on Crops, Pasture and Livestock Health in Eastern

Equatoria State, South Sudan. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(3). 332-341.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Assessing the Impact of Desert Locust Infestation on Crops,

Pasture and Livestock Health in Eastern Equatoria State, South

Sudan

Yuga M. E.

South Sudan Agriculture Research Organization (SSARO), Juba-South Sudan

P. Wani

University of Juba, Department of Agricultural Sciences

School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies

P.O.BOX 82, Juba, South Sudan

ABSTRACT

Desert locust is the word’s dangerous migratory pest that destroys crops and

pasture posing a major threat to food security and livelihoods for many rural

populations that depend on agriculture. Understanding the level of damage caused

by desert locust infestation and its impact on food and nutrition security among the

farming communities is vital for the government and development partners to avail

support to the affected populations to recover from the shock. The rapid

assessment was carried out using household survey questionnaire tool to gather

information on the impact of desert locust infestation on crops, pasture, and

livestock health in the hotspots of Magwi, Kapoeta, Torit and Ikotos Counties of

Eastern Equatoria State. The data gathered was analysed using Microsoft excel and

SPSS version 23. The survey results showed that crop production is the main source

of livelihood for the rural populations of the State, 20% of the households

interviewed estimated a 15% reduction in cereal yields in the second season of

2020 compared to 5% losses in the normal cropping season of 2019. About 60% of

the respondents said a few areas ranging from 10-25% of pastureland had been

infested in the State. Approximately 26.7% of the respondents said livestock body

conditions had been affected by the pasture loss. Therefore, encouraging farmers to

diversify crop production is recommended. Training farmers in good agricultural

practices and stronger disaster preparedness such as prepositioning of quality

seeds in the event of disaster will help the smallholder farmers to recover from the

locust crisis and improve their ability to withstand future shocks and natural

disasters.

Key words: Desert locust, livestock health, crop, pasture, Eastern Equatoria State

INTRODUCTION

Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria, Forskl) is the world’s most destructive migratory pests. A

typical swarm of migratory locust can consist of about 150 million locusts per square kilometre

and can travel as far as 150 kilometres in one day. Half a million locusts can weigh about 1 ton

and can consume about 1 ton of food enough to feed 2,500 people [3]. During a locust invasion,

large swarms and hopper bands roam over a large area and can destroy crops and pasture as

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Yuga. M. E., & Wani, P. (2022). Assessing the Impact of Desert Locust Infestation on Crops, Pasture and Livestock Health in Eastern Equatoria State,

South Sudan. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(3). 332-341.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.103.11936

they travel. One square kilometre of a swarm can consume over 120 tonnes of vegetation daily

[7,8], posing a major threat to food security and rural livelihoods.

Desert locusts live in desert and semi-desert areas [7], It has the largest distribution area which

extends from West Africa through the Middle East to East Asia.

In desert locust affected countries in the greater Horn of Africa, majority of the population

depend on agriculture for their livelihoods (80% in Ethiopia, 65% Uganda, 80% South Sudan

and 75% in Kenya). These farming and herding communities heavily rely on rain-fed

production systems, with the timing, duration and quantities of rainfall playing a critical role in

rangeland rejuvenation and crop production.

The current desert locust invasion in the Horn of Africa and Eastern African region is the worst

in 25 years in Ethiopia and Somalia and the worst in 70 years in East Africa [4]. This infestation

of desert locust arrived in the East African region in June 2020, feeding on hundreds and

thousands of hectares of crops and pastureland, causing significant destruction in at least eight

countries namely, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Sudan

[6]. The current desert locust upsurge originated from uncontrolled swarms in the Arabian

Peninsula that crossed over to the Horn of Africa in June 2019. In the East African region, the

swarms spread quickly due to favourable climatic and vegetative conditions (above average

rainfall between October and December 2020). With the potential to become a regional plague,

desert locust infestation could lead to further suffering, population movements and rising

tensions in already complex environments. Preventing the current desert locust crisis from

becoming a catastrophe will be critical to mitigate the impacts on the lives of millions of people

across the region.

Somalia was the hardest hit country in the Horn of Africa, with more than half of their lands

(56%) affected by the recent locust infestation and more than 25,000 km of pastoral land as of

March 2020 had been damaged by desert locust constituting a 55% loss of available pasture

[6].

The desert locust infestation in Ethiopia caused an estimated cereal loss of 356,286 MT

affecting a total of 806,400 farming households; in addition, 197,163 hectares of cropland and

350,000 hectares of pastureland were affected by the recent desert locust infestation that

occurred in March 2020 [9]. Previous desert locust assessments carried out by the Ministry of

Agriculture in Ethiopia suggested that the community members estimated a significant

reduction in pasture availability of 50% in Somalia, 61% in Afar, 59% in Oromia region and

35% in Dire Dawa due to locust infestation compared to the normal situation prior to the

invasion of locusts.

Recent reports of desert locust assessment in Ethiopia suggested that food consumption

deteriorated slightly at the time of the assessment with 41% of households interviewed having

poor food consumption in February 2020 when compared to 37% in August 2019 when the

locust infestation did not take place.

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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 10, Issue 3, June-2022

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Previous locust assessments carried out by Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU)

in Somalia reported that the desert locust damage to both crops and pasture remained high in

2020 due to expanding infestations and continued hatching and formation of the hoppers and

swarms.

South Sudan experienced several waves of locust infestations that came from Northern Kenya,

the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the County Agriculture

Departments of Magwi, Kapoeta, Ikotos and Torit Counties conducted a rapid assessment of the

impact of desert locust infestation on crops, pasture, and livestock health in Eastern Equatoria

State. The purpose of the household survey was to obtain information about the devastation

caused by the locust and its impact on food and nutritional security among the farming

communities in Eastern Equatoria State. This report contains main findings on the

consequences of desert locust invasion on the livelihoods of the rural communities and

concrete recommendations required to alleviate the locust crisis.

SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT

The desert locust impact assessment was carried out in Magwi, Kapoeta, Ikotos and Torit

Counties of Eastern Equatoria State. These Counties were the hotspots and experienced

multiple desert locust invasions in the past several months; therefore, the rapid assessment

was relevant to help the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) and Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) in decision making and in providing support to the County

governments and the farming communities to effectively carryout control operations to contain

the desert locust and prevent future outbreak in the State.

METHODOLOGY

The tool used to gather information was household survey questionnaire which was developed

by Ministry of Agriculture and Food security in collaboration with University of Juba (UoJ) and

FAO. This tool was used to gather information on impact of desert locust on crops, pasture, and

livestock health in the respective Counties; the household survey was conducted from

23rd/9/2020 to 6th/10/2020. Randomly sampled households from each village were visited

and after the approval of the village chief, eligible members of the family were interviewed.

The farmers were interviewed by the desert locust officers and their responses recorded in the

questionnaire forms. The information gathered was recorded in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

and analyzed using SPSS version 23.

Administration of the survey

Three locally hired desert locust control officers in each County were involved in administering

the household survey. Site members were given orientation on the questionnaire contents, and

sampling techniques by the technical team from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food security

(MAFS) on the first day of the assessment. At the end of each interview day, the interviewers,

and the technical team from MAFS and (UoJ) jointly crossed checked the data collected in the

field to minimize the effects of any response and recording errors. Upon arrival of the

enumerators from the field, the data was entered into an Excel spreadsheet that same evening.