Our History
Year 1962 -2023
How it all began
This is the story of an African organisation, funded by African governments, which serves African farmers and all those who benefit from the crops that they produce.
Jun 1931
First international anti-locust conference
After further Desert Locust plagues occurrences in Africa in the 1920s during which the British, under the leadership of Boris Uvarov, collected and mapped reports from many different countries, Italy organized another International Anti-Locust Conference which was held in Rome in 1931.
Year 1950
The control element of DLS came into being
After the Second World War, The Control element of DLS came into being in 1950 (Report of the Desert Locust Survey and Control 1953). The DLS was a Department of the East African Common Services Organization and was financed by Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda and the UK.
20 Aug 1962
DLCO-EA was born
The Convention was signed formally in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 20 August 1962 by representatives of the Governments of Ethiopia, Somali Republic and Tanganyika, and by Kenya and Uganda acting with the consent of the UK (First DLCO-EA Annual Report 1964). DLCO-EA was born.
15 May 1972
The new headquarters of DLCO-EA
The new headquarters of DLCO-EA in Addis Ababa was officially opened on 15 May 1972. By August, DLCO-EA, having completed the first 10 years of its existence, was an active and effective organization and a credit to its Member Governments.
In conclusion, it is clear that the long road that the Organization has travelled, has sometimes been bumpy. Unlike many other organizations, DLCO-EA has overcome periods of difficulty when it was not certain that it would survive, and has emerged as an Organization that is still providing and will continue to provide a valuable service to its Member Countries. The credit for this positive outcome must rest with the Ministers of Agriculture who have supported it, the skill and dedication of the Organization’s staff and the assistance that has been provided by the international donor community.