(Fighting against new crown pneumonia) New crown epidemic and locust plague exacerbate food security risks
China News Agency, Beijing, May 12 (Reporter Wu Xu) The "FAO Locust Disaster Control Progress Report" released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the 11th shows that the second wave of locust disasters may be the key to crop harvesting. As the time comes, the risk of food crisis has not been eliminated. Facing many challenges such as the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic and the Locust Disaster, FAO will insist on monitoring and control actions.
The report pointed out that the UN Food and Agriculture Operation launched in January has now covered ten countries including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Yemen. With the help of the organization, more than 365,000 hectares of land and 720,000 tons of grain in ten countries were protected from desert locusts. This 720,000 tons of grain is enough for the 5 million people in the above-mentioned ten countries to eat for the past year. In addition, 350,000 herders are also protected from disasters due to FAO actions.
Desert locust monitoring, forecasting and control is a core work of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Although the organization ’s response to locust disasters in East Africa and Yemen has made significant progress, the second wave of locust swarms is expected to transition from the larval stage to the adult stage in June due to climatic conditions that are favorable for locust reproduction. disaster. The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Qu Dongyu, warned that the "protracted war" against locusts is not over. In the next few months, more people will face the risk of losing their livelihoods and deteriorating food security.
In order to contain the locust disaster on a larger scale, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations plans to update its response action plan in the next few weeks and join Iran, Pakistan, and the Sahel on the basis of the original ten countries. Iran and Pakistan are already facing serious problems of locust breeding, and the Sahel region is in need of increased response due to the risk of disaster.
Previously, the "Global Food Crisis Report" jointly released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and other agencies predicted that in the second half of this year, more than 25 million people in East Africa will face food insecurity. Affected by multiple crises such as the desert locust, the new crown epidemic, extreme weather and regional conflicts, the food security situation of vulnerable groups in East Africa will further deteriorate.
"We can and must protect vulnerable people from multiple crises such as conflicts, extreme weather, desert locust plagues and the new crown epidemic, and prevent the local food security situation from deteriorating further." QU Dongyu said that FAO has raised funds since January this year The funds received are mainly used for locust control, but livelihood support activities need more funding.
On the other hand, the chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Maximo Torrero, recently published a review article in Nature magazine, saying that for most parts of the world, local production alone cannot meet the local food demand. The pandemic of the new crown epidemic may lead to the interruption of the global supply chain, which will bring great risks to global food security.
"Cooperation and information sharing can help countries better withstand the impact of the epidemic." Torrero pointed out that the agriculture ministers of 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have signed an agreement to jointly guarantee the local food supply. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is also closely monitoring information on outbreaks and food supplies around the world. (Finish)