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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1: Desert Locusts Swarm West Africa

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced this week that swarms of desert locusts have started to invade West Africa, threatening food and economic crops in an already unstable region.

The desert locust is a type of grasshopper that sometimes forms swarms. These swarms devour every bit of unprotected greenery in sight. According to the FAO, when these swarms form, tens of millions of the creatures can be found in a single square kilometer, and each of the bugs can eat its own weight in food. They can also migrate over enormous distances. The insects in this recent infestation have appeared in Mauritania, Mali and Senegal, and it is believed they may spread as far as Sudan. So far, however, the infestation has not grown into a plague.

The FAO said that several million acres of land have already been treated with pesticides in order to protect crops from the hungry bugs, but more treatment is needed. The FAO and other organizations and nations have donated about $9 million to help the poorer West African countries fund pesticide treatment.

The current locust infestation has already become the largest since the region was plagued by the creatures in 1987-89, an infestation that caused more than $300 million in damage and lost profits.

--Written by Nia Williams

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