On 26th January 2017, Addis Ababa – The Sub Regional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to AUC & ECA (SRC-SFE), Mr. Patrick Kormawa and the Director, Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA), Mr. Stephen Njoka signed a Letter of Agreement to jointly implement the project to control the Desert Locust.
Both leaders accentuated that, effective control of the pest is of crucial importance if the Sub-region is to achieve its vision to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and better livelihoods. They also highlighted the permanent threat of the Desert Locust in these countries and the huge impact that the trans-boundary pest can have on food security and livelihoods in the Sub-region.
“Reliable early warning and early action systems are key to effective Desert Locust control” said Mr. Kormawa. On his part, the Director DLCO-EA noted that “Promotion of sustainable agriculture and the achievement of food security in the Horn of Africa must consider the effective control of the Desert Locust”.
The project also includes collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture in the frontline countries of the Horn of Africa of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan partly through the creation of national commissions focusing on developing the preventive control strategy, by promoting the establishment of autonomous national Desert Locust units to foster implementation and to improve transboundary co-operation among the countries.
