SITUATION UPDATE, 15 May 2015

FACTS RESPONSE FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

Locust plague Three consecutive locust campaigns Programme budget: USD 39.4 million since April 2012 needed to return to a locust recession Funding received: USD 31.5 million and to safeguard the food security of Funding gap: USD 7.9 million rural populations in Madagascar Livelihoods of 13 million 2013/14 people threatened Human Health and Environmental 9 million depend on Plan is being implemented with key 2014/15 agriculture partners 2015/16

Time critical support Locust Watch Unit analyses locust 5 10 15 20 25

Funding needed now to situation and documents results of USD million

ensure the implementation survey and control operations: Funding received Funding required of aerial operations until § 10-day bulletins the end of Campaign 2 § Monthly bulletins

From mid-March 2015, rains have globally decreased on the whole Island: therefore the vegetation cover started to dry

out on plateaus and in the plains but was still green in the low-lying areas. In the Invasion Area, the northern part continues to remain free from infestations of the Malagasy Migratory Locust. In the central part (Mandoto area), some light flights and small swarms seen in early April 2015 laid eggs before having been treated; the resulting gregarious hopper patches and bands of the third generation are now being controlled. In the Outbreak Area, the Malagasy Migratory Locust situation is highly heterogeneous. In the southwestern part (Bekily-Fotadrevo peneplain, Mahafaly plateau and arc and coastal plain), the locust populations observed during the last ten days of March 2015 were scattered and consisted of different instar hoppers and of transiens adults. In the north-western (Morombe area) and central (Tsitondroina area and Belomatra plateau) parts, the populations observed LOCUST SITUATION LOCUST from mid-April to early May formed groups. Gregarious hopper patches and bands as well as light flights and small swarms are currently under localization and control.

2nd locust campaign (Sep. 2014 – Aug. 2015). Since late March 2015 the two mobile aerial bases, whose temporary locations change in accordance with the evolving locust situation, have been redeployed as follows: (i) one to Miandrivazo, Morombe, then again to Miandrivazo in order to control gregarious hopper bands, light flights and small swarms, and (ii) the other one consecutively to Betioky, Ejeda, Itampolo, Ihosy, Mandoto and again to Ihosy in order to control hopper patches and bands as

well as adult populations. Each base is adequately equipped with means to undertake aerial (one helicopter) and ground (one vehicle-mounted sprayer and five knapsack sprayers) control operations. From 11 March to 10 May 2015, locust infestations

have been controlled on 187 024 ha, bringing to 462 500 ha the total area treated since the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign. In April, day-to-day activities of the anti-locust Campaign have been supervised and coordinated by the

RESPONSE Deputy Campaign Coordinator supported by three international experts, two locust experts and one expert in spraying techniques. In view of the current locust situation, two aerial bases will be maintained in May in order to ensure survey and control activities in the Central part of the Invasion Area as well as in the Outbreak Area. The procurement of equipment and inputs essential to the implementation of field activities continues: 30 000 liters of insect-growth regulators were delivered on 07 May 2015 and have been distributed to the warehouses as close as possible to the infested areas.

Three-year Emergency Response Programme (2013–2016). Prepared by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture. Focuses on: § Improving the monitoring and analysis of the locust situation § Large-scale aerial control operations § Monitoring and mitigating the impact of locust control operations on human health and the environment

§ Assessing the effectiveness of each locust campaign and the impact of locusts on crops and pastures FAO continues its resource-mobilization efforts at national and international levels in order to ensure the implementation of aerial survey and control operations until the end of Campaign 2 without any break. Indeed, the current gap to successfully complete the Three-year Programme and return to a locust recession period amounts to USD 7.9 million, of which USD 4 million is urgently needed for the Campaign 2. PROGRAMME Contributors include: Austria, Belgium, the European Union, FAO through the funds of the Technical Cooperation Programme, France, Italy, Japan, Madagascar (through loans from the World Bank loan and the International Fund for Agricultural Development), Norway, the United Nations Central Emergencies Response Fund (CERF) and the United States of America. Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania contributed to the provision of pesticides (triangulation).