INPV: Locust invasion threatens Sahel countries

The threat of locust invasion endangers the Sahel countries and Algeria’s extreme south, following the heavy summer rains in these zones, creating ecological conditions favourable to the reproduction of desert locusts, according to Ghardaia’s regional station of the National Institute of Plant Protection (INPV). The huge volume of rainfalls in the Sahel countries favours the hatching process of locust larva which increased locust populations, said Thursday Director of INPV’s regional station Ahmed Sekkouti, underlining that "swarms of these insects are scattered in Sudan and about to be formed in Niger and Mali. "No alarming infestation or locust activity" were observed in the south of Algeria by the various prospecting teams deployed throughout the southern provinces of the country, said the official. Preventive monitoring mechanism against any infiltration or incursion of desert locusts was reactivated and strengthened across the Algerian southern provinces since last year, added Sekkouti.