Grasshoppers are anxious in Africa

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) worries that giant locust swarms will push African countries into food shortages.

>>>Grasshoppers move according to their sense or vision

Grasshoppers, insects have the ability to fly far away in the herd and destroy trees on a large scale, appearing for the first time in years in southwestern Libya and southeastern Algeria in January. Large grasshopper herds in the east of Chad and western Sudan, AFP reported.

Giant grasshoppers are a threat to food security.

"Grasshoppers flock to Mauritania, Algeria, Libya and even Morocco ," said Keith Cressman, an FAO official.

FAO warns that the number of grasshoppers in Mali and Niger will skyrocket in the near future thanks to heavy rains and strong growth of trees.

The West African region is fighting the third biggest drought in a decade. The crop failure caused about 23 million people in 8 countries in the region to face food shortages, humanitarian organizations said. So the devastation of giant grasshoppers can make the situation worse.

FAO officials said they needed an additional $ 10 million to stop the locust's raging. This money will be used to purchase motor vehicles, communication equipment and insecticides. However, armed conflict in Mali made FAO's anti-grasshopper efforts difficult.