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Desert Locust Emergency in  19 November 2020 | UPDATE 9 CURRENT SITUATION

The Desert Locust situation in Somalia remains classified asDangerous .

During October, swarms of Desert Locust matured, and eggs began to hatch in , and Hirshabelle. A limited number of swarms were reported along the border of and most of which originated from Ethiopia. A few mature swarms were reported as far south as for the first time this year. Government surveys confirmed the presence of newly emerged hoppers and a reduced number of mature adults due to control operations and natural mortality after egg deposits in Puntland and Galmudug. Aerial and ground control operations targeting the mature swarms, and newly hatched hoppers, continued in Puntland and Galmudug. In Somaliland, ground and aerial control was carried out along the southern border with Ethiopia. Limited ground control operations have begun in the South. Ongoing Control Operations REGIONAL RESOURCES & HECTARES BIO VEHICLES COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS CONTROLLED PESTICIDES Laying of the first stone of the Desert Locust monitoring and control centre in

Video: Hatching and band Procured Delivered formation of Desert Locust Area Treated 11 525 8 535 Procured Delivered in Galmudug 96 932 ha IGR: 60 000 lts 30 000 lts 19 17 Desert Locust Alert, Southern Somalia VEHICLE MOUNTED KNAPSACK SPRAYER HOUSEHOLDS Mature swarms of Desert Locust in northeast Somalia

FAO Locust Twitter account

UN activities in Somalia - October 2020

Locust hub Procured Delivered Procured Delivered Planned Reached 40 40 108 108 72 750 40 020 FORECAST According to the World Climate Service, the long term forecast for Somalia predicts normal rains for November in Puntland and Galmudug that may support the development of newly hatched hoppers into new swarms in mid to late December. A similar situation is unfolding in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. The rainfall predicted in Somaliland will be lower than normal and the likelihood of a new generation developing is considered low. Breeding conditions in remain suitable and new swarms may migrate into Somalia in mid to late December.

Impact on Food Security in Somalia Desert Locust are transboundary, can to reduce local swarms. Pasture losses population facing food consumption gaps spread over a large area in a short time in the North remain localized, permitting indicative of Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse and cause extensive loss to crops and opportunities for livestock migration. outcomes is likely to reach 2.1 million. pasture. Crops are susceptible throughout The risk of Desert Locust damage In early to mid-2021, the acutely food most of their growth stages (germination, remains high during the Deyr season. insecure population is likely to rise to vegetative, flowering, seed setting, seed A new generation of immature swarms will over 2.5 million due to the impact of filling and early maturity/milking phases). form in early December and are expected consecutive, below-average rainfall A Desert Locust invasion could be to threaten southern Somalia. As the seasons on crop and livestock production. catastrophic at any one of these stages. timing will coincide with crop maturity and Sustained humanitarian food assistance is Desert Locust hatching and band formation the harvesting period, this is expected required to prevent Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or are widespread in central Somalia and to exacerbate the impact of below- worse outcomes and protect livelihoods. swarms have been reported in Hiiraan, average 2020 Deyr season rains on crop Scaled up Desert Locust surveillance and Bay, , Middle and production and pasture. control operations and related capacity regions causing significant damage to Acute food insecurity is expected to building are preventing further crop and germinating crops. Due to the presence remain high in Somalia through May pasture losses and must continue to of swarms and reports of breeding in the 2021 driven by the varying impacts of protect livelihoods from Desert Locust as South at this stage of crop development, localized floods and below-average rainfall, the Somali populations are already facing as well as the likelihood of erratic rainfall a worsening Desert Locust infestation in multiple threats to food security: Desert at the end of the Deyr season, crop and central and parts of southern Somalia, Locust, the socio-economic impacts of pasture losses from Desert Locust will and the economic contraction linked to COVID-19 and a developing drought be higher than last year. Aerial control the COVID-19 pandemic. In late 2020, the condition. operations in the northwest are working

Metric tonnes of 204 964 cereals protected metric tonnes over one season Achieved

$61.5 Income saved @ million 300 USD/tonne

96 932 hectares Number of controlled 1 366 426 people meeting their annual cereal needs

Number of pastoral 95 146 households able to feed their livestock ONGOING EFFORTS

Control Operations Livelihoods Support 24 300 households were aged to reach 7 468 house- reached with the Gu/Karan holds with mobile money livelihood package as support. The remaining 8 planned in South Central 532 beneficiaries will start Somalia and Somaliland. In to receive their cash in the addition, riverine households month of November 2020. benefited from 12 hours FAO continues to air radio of supplemental irrigation programmes for both good while 9 050 households, agricultural practices and in the North, benefited family nutrition. The training is from tractor hours as geared towards the adoption complimentary services. The of knowledge and change in 24 300 households received behaviour and practices for hermetic storage bags to improved productivity and Control efforts have now shifted procured and 30 000 litres increase the shelf life of food security among farming to Puntland, Galmudug and the have been delivered. Control produce and limit pest and households. southern states targeting the and survey operations continue moisture damage. remaining mature adult swarms from aerial and ground teams 3 600 MT of rangeland and the newly emerged hopper with an additional 50 portable In Deyr 2020, FAO planned cubes have been delivered bands. The total area treated ULVA Plus’s and two vehicle to reach 16 000 households to warehouses in Hargeisa, from the beginning of 2020 to mounted Micron AU8115’s with a risk reduction pack- Garowe and South . mid-November was 96 932 ha, made available in North and age including seeds, tools Distribution of the rangeland 38 192 of which were treated Central Somalia. and hermetic storage bags cubes to the 30 000 regis- by air. The control strategy FAO continues to work closely in South Central Somalia. tered households will begin for November is to target with the Ministry of FAO has reached 15 731 towards the end of Novem- the hoppers that will hatch and Irrigation, Federal households, 98% of the tar- in Puntland and Galmudug ber. 2 450 Cash+Livestock Government of Somalia to get. 155 of the households using biopesticides and Insect beneficiaries are undergoing provide farmers in South have not been reached due Growth Regulators (IGR). verification before the first Somalia with spray equipment to access challenges. FAO is payment is disbursed. All biopesticides have been as well as chemicals to protect working to reach the house- delivered to the field while 60 their crop from Desert Locust holds. FAO has also man- 000 litres of IGR have been migrating to the South.

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FUNDING 12.9M

12 Pillar I – Control Desert Locust Pillar II – Protect Lives & Livelihoods $ 10

6.5 8 7.4M 7.6M MILLION $ 6.8M FUNDING 6 GAP 50.4 MILLION 4.8M

FUNDING 4 3.5M RECEIVED 2 2M 1.5M 1.1M 914K 924K 500K 406K 0

FAO

Union UKaid Gates USAID ECHO) Norway TOTAL FUNDING REQUIRED: MILLION Sweden $56.9 European Germany (DEVCO + UN CERF Mastercard Foundation Switzerland

The World Bank Resource Partners

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