During the past few months, Ethiopia faces an overwhelming invasion of desert locust swarms that damage crops and pasture fields in many regions, affecting over one million individuals.

 

Following the request by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gabi Ashkenazi instructed to deploy an ad-hoc task force of locust fighters and experts to Ethiopia in order to join forces with their Ethiopian counterparts and control the spread of the swarms in the country.

 

The Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa is leading the operation, in coordination with the Ethiopian authorities. Mr. Yoav Mortro, Israel’s top locust expert heads the task force, which includes three additional members who specialize in different fields of expertise.

 

The desert locust is one of the most destructive pests, as it is highly mobile and feed on large quantities of any kind of green vegetation, including crops, pasture, and fodder. In most cases, the common response to locust swarms invasion is aerial spraying of crops using pesticides. Israeli researchers developed a unique and innovative method, based on the accumulated experience with this phenomena in Israel. This cutting-edge method is based on daytime surveillance by drones and data analysis of the swarm’s movement, followed by night spraying while the pests are static. Israel is thrilled to share is experience and knowhow with Ethiopia.

 

The Israeli task force brings more than 2 tons of equipment and advanced appliances, that will be handed over to the Ethiopian authorities with the conclusion of the operation. The task force is planned to operate in Ethiopia for two weeks, during which it will demonstrate and train more than 200 Ethiopian locust fighters, governmental agencies and international organizations representatives.

 

This operation symbolizes the strong and long-lasting relations between Israel and Ethiopia, which are demonstrated during normal and challenging times.