Locusts have hit east Africa hard

VAST SWARMS of locusts have swept through Kenya and Ethiopia since January, devastating fields, pastures and livelihoods. Governments have struggled to suppress them. They have continued to breed in their billions, threatening whole economies, which are also being battered by the covid-19 pandemic.

Last month Fitch, a credit-rating agency, issued its first-ever warning that locusts could shake east Africa’s macroeconomic stability. In Ethiopia the voracious insects may drive up food prices, accelerating consumer inflation that is already running at about 20% a year. They may also cause Ethiopia’s fiscal deficit to widen.

Moody’s, another ratings agency, is just as gloomy. It said the locusts are “credit negative” for governments in the region. The “twin shocks” of covid-19 and locusts have led it to cut by more than half its economic growth forecasts for several countries, including Ethiopia and Kenya. East Africa is particularly vulnerable to locusts because farming and herding generate about a third of its GDP and provide two-thirds of jobs. The only exception to this rule of thumb is Kenya, which has a more diverse economy.

Like humans, locusts eat maize, sorghum and millet. They also chomp the grass that sustains livestock. Swarms like one that ravaged Kenya earlier this year can contain 200bn locusts and eat...