Reuters AlertNet Lite - U.N. warns of locusts in north and west Africa

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U.N. warns of locusts in north and west Africa

11 Oct 2006 11:44:17 GMT
Source: Reuters

ROME, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned countries in western and northern Africa to be on the alert for an outbreak of locusts, which devastated the regions' farms in 2004.

Locusts have been found in parts of Mauritania and are laying eggs that will hatch in the next 10 days, FAO said on Wednesday, warning countries like Algeria, Mali, Morocco and Senegal to be on the lookout for the pests.

"Surveys are currently in progress in summer breeding areas in southern and central Mauritania, northern Niger and in the southern parts of Morocco and Algeria," FAO said in a statement.

The organisation said the outbreak would be an opportunity to test a new environmentally friendly pesticide that uses a natural fungus to infect locusts and stop them feeding.

The 2004 locust outbreak cost more than $400 million to eradicate. FAO said there were sufficient resources in place in Mauritania to handle the outbreak at present, but that more might be needed if the situation worsened in the coming months.

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Last updated:Wed Oct 11 11:48:46 2006