Xinhua News Agency, United Nations, February 25th (Reporter Lin Yuan) United Nations Secretary-General Spokesman Diyalik said on the 25th that the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Lockock, and the World Food Programme Executive Director Beasley called on the international community to provide more funding to deal with the locust disaster that is raging.

In recent months, several countries have suffered from desert locust disasters. According to a report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the locust plague swept more than 20 countries from West Africa to East Africa and from West Asia to South Asia. The affected area totaled more than 16 million square kilometers, of which the Horn of Africa was the most severe.

Diajric said that FAO had launched a $ 76 million fundraising plan in January, hoping to use the power of the international community to help the Horn of Africa resist locust attacks, but the progress of this fundraising has been too slow. Only $ 33 million has been received or pledged to date.

Diajric said that the heads of the three UN agencies believed that the locusts continued to rag in East Africa, causing the cost of response to have doubled to $ 138 million. The World Food Programme has warned that the cost of tackling the impact of locust plagues on food security alone will be at least 15 times higher than the current cost of preventing the spread of locust plagues.

Desert locusts are considered to be one of the most destructive migratory pests in the world. They can fly 150 kilometers in the wind every day and survive for about 3 months. It is reported that a locust swarm covering an area of ​​one square kilometer can eat 35,000 rations a day.