As desert locust infestations in East Africa and Southwest Asia have intensified in recent months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a statement that it has provided an additional $200,000 to further strengthen Iran’s technical capacity to control Desert Locust.
The total budget allocated by FAO for this emergency Technical Cooperation Program amounts $500,000, FAO added.
FAO Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran Gerold Bödeker said: “FAO mainly focuses on providing around 320 Iranian experts with the requisite technical knowledge and skills to detect, track, report on and rapidly respond to desert locust infestations.”
"FAO will also assist the country in procuring vital equipment needed to equip two desert locust control centers that will allow a quicker and more effective response," He added
Widespread rains over the last couple of months in East Africa and Southwest Asia, including southern Iran, has provided a conducive environment for the desert locusts to breed, which has in turn paved the way for massive desert locust infestation in these areas, said FAO’s Senior Locust Forecasting Officer Keith Cressman.
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