Nairobi, Kenya · 1 February 2020 — The Greater Horn of Africa faced its worst desert locust crisis in 25 years as massive swarms descended across Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen, threatening the food security and livelihoods of over 25 million people. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched the largest regional aerial control operation in its history, mobilising over $230 million to combat the unprecedented upsurge.
The crisis was triggered by an unusual sequence of weather events beginning in late 2019. Heavy rains across the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, combined with two rare cyclones — Pawan in November 2019 and an earlier storm in October — created ideal breeding conditions for desert locusts in areas where the insects had not reproduced in decades. By January 2020, swarms had migrated from Yemen into Ethiopia and Somalia, then spread south into Kenya at a pace not seen since the major upsurge of 1987–1989.
A Crisis Without Modern Precedent
In Kenya, the infestation was the worst in 70 years. Swarms covering up to 1,500 square kilometres moved across the northern and central counties, consuming crops and pasture at a rate that stunned local agricultural authorities. A single square kilometre swarm can consume as much food in one day as approximately 35,000 people.
Ethiopia and Somalia faced similarly severe infestations. In Somalia, the insecurity in some breeding areas complicated control operations, while in Ethiopia, swarms moved through the fertile Rift Valley regions, threatening staple cereal crops and pastureland that pastoralist communities depend on for their livestock.
FAO's Three-Pillar Response
The FAO structured its response around three key pillars: surveillance and control, safeguarding livelihoods, and coordination.
Surveillance and Control
The primary focus was tracking and curbing the spread of swarms through a regional approach. At the peak of the campaign, up to 20 aircraft were deployed simultaneously across the region, supported by hundreds of ground teams. The FAO's Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS), based in Rome, served as the central data hub, providing forecasts and early warnings to national governments.
Ground teams surveyed more than 1.4 million locations across the Horn of Africa and Yemen, identifying breeding sites and tracking swarm movements. The aerial spraying operations targeted immature swarms before they could reproduce, breaking the breeding cycle.
Safeguarding Livelihoods
Beyond direct pest control, the FAO provided support to rural farming households affected by locust damage. This included distributing seeds and tools to replant destroyed crops, providing livestock feed to pastoralists whose pasture had been consumed, and offering cash transfers to the most vulnerable households to bridge the gap between crop loss and the next harvest.
Coordination and Preparedness
The FAO coordinated with national governments and regional bodies, including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to ensure cross-border cooperation. Given the migratory nature of desert locusts — swarms can travel up to 150 kilometres per day — regional coordination was essential to prevent swarms from simply moving from a controlled area to an uncontrolled one.
Measured Impact
The collective efforts of the FAO, national governments, and international partners produced measurable results. Between 2020 and 2021, approximately 2.3 million hectares were treated across the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
The FAO also emphasised environmental safety during the operations, promoting the use of biopesticides where possible and implementing rigorous pesticide management systems to minimise risks to human health and the ecosystem.
Funding and International Support
The $230 million mobilised by the FAO came from a range of donors, including the European Union, the World Bank, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and several bilateral contributions. The World Bank approved a $500 million emergency response programme to support affected countries across Africa and the Middle East.
Despite this significant mobilisation, the FAO repeatedly warned that funding gaps remained a constraint. The speed at which locusts reproduce — a single generation can increase the population 20-fold — meant that any delay in control operations risked allowing the upsurge to escalate further.
Climate Connection
The 2020 upsurge drew attention to the link between climate change and pest dynamics. The unusual cyclone activity that triggered the breeding was consistent with patterns predicted by climate models for a warming Indian Ocean. Researchers at the FAO and partner institutions noted that rising sea surface temperatures could increase the frequency of cyclones in the western Indian Ocean, potentially creating more frequent conditions favourable to desert locust breeding.
By 2022, the FAO officially declared that the historic upsurge had been suppressed. However, the organisation warned that without sustained investment in early warning systems and control capacity, similar crises could recur.
Sources
- FAO Desert Locust Crisis Response:
- FAO Progress Report, May 2020:
- Real-Time Evaluation of FAO's Response to the Desert Locust Upsurge 2020–2021, ReliefWeb:
- World Bank Group and the Desert Locust Outbreak:
- ICPAC Desert Locust Update:
- CERF Eastern Africa Desert Locust Report:
FIRAT Editorial Board
Institutional Research Desk · Foresight Institute of Research and Translation
The collective editorial and research translation board of FIRAT, synthesising peer-reviewed evidence, policy briefs, and division milestones across our seven foundational research pillars.
