DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE
Press release

Gambia to Intervene in Mauritania and Senegal as Locust Crisis Worsens

As the desert locust crisis in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali and Niger continue to deteriorate and there is a serious risk now that a substantial portion of the bumper harvest expected this summer throughout West Africa, including the Gambia will be lost, His Excellency President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, has authorised the intervention of Gambian Locust Control teams in Mauritania and Senegal.

It is estimated that around three to four million hectares of land are now infested by locust in West Africa, with Mauritania being the worst hit country (around 1.6 million ha infested).

The donor countries have only provided a total of $24 million, of which FAO has actually received only $4 million, This is a small percentage of the $100 million the organisation estimates is needed to control the widespread locust outbreaks.

Widespread breading has occurred during the last two months in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali and Niger and, to lesser extent, in Burkina Faso. Smaller-scale breeding is in progress in Cape Verde and Chad. Desert locust hopper bands are rapidly developing in all affected countries and the first generation of summer swarms have already started forming in Mauritania and Niger, FAO said.

A substantial number of swarms will form in the coming weeks in the Sahel in West Africa. Some of these swarms may stay put and could breed again in the net two months, while others may reinvade Senegal and move southwards, to Gambia, Guinea Bissau and possibly Guinea by the end of the year.

It is in view of this imminent crisis and the immediate threat of southward movement of locusts swarms towards the Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea, that H.E. the President, Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh has authorised the intervention of 15 fully equipped Gambian Locust Control teams in Senegal and Mauritania.

Following consultations between the Department of State for Agriculture in the Gambia and the Ministry of Agriculture in Senegal, 10 Gambian Locust control teams will be deployed in the 5 most affected regions of Senegal, namely: Saint Louis, Podor, Linguere, Gosas and Matam Each team will comprise; two vehicles, each mounted with the ULVAMAST Ultra Low Volume sprayer, the most modern and known lethal weapon against infestations, and well trained plant protection experts. Similar consultations are being held with the Mauritanian Government. All 15 teams are expected to leave the Gambia on Monday 20 September 2004.

Meanwhile, the Jammeh Foundation, on Friday 17 September, donated USD30, 000, USD20,000 and USD10,000 respectively to Mauritania, Senegal and the Department of State for Agriculture, towards the Locust campaign in the two countries. The money donated to DOSA is exclusively towards the operating costs of the Gambian teams in Mauritania and Senegal.