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Madagascars Locust Crisis: A Look at the Wanderheuschrecken Situation

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Crisis in Agriculture

When a poor country like Madagascar is hit by natural disasters, the consequences are felt for years to come. This is also because the country lacks the financial means to address the aftermath. Hunger and devastated landscapes on a devastating scale are the result of one of the largest locust plagues to ever hit the country.
In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna hit the

Widespread flooding in the coastal areas of the southwestern part of the country created ideal conditions for one of the worst insect plagues in recent years to spread. The southern part of the country often suffers from prolonged droughts and cyclones, making living conditions particularly difficult for people: Nearly 90% of the population live well below the poverty line. Since agriculture is the livelihood of the population in these impoverished areas, the poorest people in the country suffer the most from the consequences of the locust plague. 13 million people, more than half of the population, earn their livelihood. Learn more about the population in Madagascar. Directly or indirectly linked to agriculture, farmers in Madagascar constantly face threats to their existence from unfavorable weather conditions and environmental and climate disasters. The last major locust plague was a particularly impactful experience for Madagascar’s farmers: during the winter, when conditions were at their worst, the locusts became a problem that the farmers could not handle with their simple means. Within a short period of time, they spread over the farmland and swarmed over any crops. Once the density of several thousand mature insects per hectare is exceeded, the insects transform into mobile swarms. This is why they are commonly referred to as “mobile swarms”.

Grasshoppers in Madagascar: A Threat to Agriculture

Migration is a natural phenomenon for grasshoppers. These migrations are necessary for the survival of the species, but they also lead to ecologically complementary areas being colonized by the insects in uncontrollable numbers, making them unusable for agriculture. In the first months of the grasshopper plague, the swarms were so dense that the sky remained dark for hours.

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Grains are also on the menu. The rice fields of the Malagasy people are often at risk of being invaded by swarms of locusts. A single swarm can consume up to 100,000 tons of green fodder per day and move on once the area can no longer sustain the insects. This renders the land unusable for any agricultural purposes. Thanks to their strong wings, locusts are extremely mobile and can cover vast distances. They rest when they find an area that provides them with good conditions for reproduction and lay their eggs there. The larvae hatch in high humidity and become sexually mature in just about a month and a half. Especially during the rainy season, their population can explode. During the last major locust plague in 2013/2014, the pests quickly populated over half of the island of Madagascar. They not only destroyed fields in the impoverished south of the country but also spread to the highlands and even the suburbs of the capital Antananarivo. This infestation highlighted the challenge of controlling insects without expensive insecticides.

Wanderheuschrecken in Madagaskar

How to deal with locusts. But how?

Untreated, a locust plague can last for more than ten years. Each year, the areas inhabited by the pests expand due to the constant increase in insect populations. Crops and pastures become permanently unproductive, and the livelihood of the population in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, is seriously threatened. 60% of the country was already affected by the locust invasion in 2013. In such crisis situations, both the government and the population of the country are overwhelmed. With a lack of resources for successful pest control, people have no choice but to…

Attempting to drive away the locusts with fire and smoke has only moderate success. Despite all efforts, the insects undo the work of a year within minutes. Due to the destroyed crops, families lack food and the locusts mercilessly invade the pastures. Where once rice or cassava was dried, now locusts dry, catch, dry, and then eat the population with primitive means. Utilizing insects as food is more of a last resort in such large quantities, as other means of obtaining food are lacking. The loss of fields and pastures can be mitigated by promoting the consumption of insects as food. To permanently combat locusts, Madagascar needs the support of the Western world. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness in Europe and the USA about the devastating situation on Africa’s largest island. Additionally, caution must be exercised in choosing the means to combat locusts. Helicopter operations and the use of chemical pollutants are generally necessary to combat a locust plague. However, simply providing these resources does not solve the problem. Comprehensive education must also be carried out among the population on how to deal with the issue. Not trained in insecticides

and handles them too naively. In the worst case scenario, without sufficient education, one may be able to combat locusts, but risks the health of the population. Madagascar alone can hardly cope with such problems, the island nation needs help from other countries.

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