The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, which issued a warning of a possible invasion of desert locust in the Northern part of Ghana, has said that the country is no more under threat.
FAO had said that the desert locust which appeared in East Africa early this year as a result of irregular weather and climate conditions was likely to hit the Northern part of Ghana.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, the crop production and protection officer of the organisation, Jean Bahama, said the possibility of an invasion is low due to the current weather conditions.
“It is not probable or likely that the locust will move to West Africa. Even if they should move to West Africa, the dry weather conditions that are prevailing, for the time being, will not allow them to thrive,” he added.
The species
The East African invasion is adjudged as the worst invasion of desert locusts in 25 years, and countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are all struggling with “unprecedented” and “devastating” swarms of the food-devouring insects.
This has caused the UN to call for international help to fight the huge swarms of desert locusts sweeping through the eastern part of the continent.
A spokesman for the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) called for aid to “avert any threats to food security, livelihoods, malnutrition.”
The head of the pests, crop and disease division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Ebenezer Aboagye, last week told the media that the ministry has instigated processes to procure insecticides to deal with the pests, should they reach Ghana.
