Bishop Giorgio Bertin Catholic bishops in East Africa have called for increased action to combat the region’s worst desert locust infestation in 70 years.
Like scenes from the Book of Exodus, swarms of locusts are ravaging grazing lands and endangering the economies of seven countries heavily dependent on agriculture for food security.
Bishop Giorgio Bertin, who heads the Church in Djibouti and Somalia, says Catholic leaders have been urging citizens to use all means to fight the insects. “It is too big for us,” said Bishop Bertin. “The locust plague is a concern of everyone.”
He suggested that “countries with military bases” should “use planes to spray the locusts” as a means of fighting back.
Somalia declared the locust crisis a national disaster in January. The swarms came in December and from there they have moved into Kenya.
Reports indicate the locust have reached Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda in the past week, having already decimated crops in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Desert locust swarms can travel up to 150km a day and can devour as much food as 35,000 people in a day, according to the United Nations.