Acridid pest management in the developing world: a challenge to the rural population, a dilemma to the international community

Opinions expressed in this article are entirely those of the author.Acridid pests, locusts and grasshoppers, pose continuing threats to rural communities in developing countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, where human and material resources for controlling these insects are meager to none. The past 15 y have witnessed invasions, upsurges and/or plague of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, mixed at times with the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria migratorioides, and the Senegalese grasshopper, Oedaleus senegalensis—in outbreak and invasion areas in the Sahel, northwestern Africa, the Red Sea region, and southwest Asia. Strained by lack of resources to develop and implement integrated pest management strategies that embrace effective preventive control alternatives, affected countries often resort to spraying enormous quantities of synthetic chemical pesticides to control these pests. During the 2003–05 and 1993–94 upsurges, and the 1986–89 locust/grasshopper plague, close to 25 million liters of pesticides were sprayed, largely with the help of the international community. At current estimates, that may have meant upwards of US$500 million in control cost alone, not to mention associated environment and nontarget costs. This paper attempts an overview of the challenges, impacts, and implications of the current approach, its perceived and actual benefits to rural communities and the dilemma in donors' actions or inactions. It also tries to capture lessons learned and experiences gained from recent and past campaigns and to draw conclusions and offer recommendations for future directions.