Swarms of locusts which are causing havoc across East Africa have now arrived in South Sudan one of the world’s most vulnerable nations.
Billions of desert locusts, some in swarms the size of Moscow, have already chomped their way through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda.
Their breeding has been spurred by one of the wettest rainy seasons in the region in four decades.
Experts have warned the main March-to-May cropping season is at risk. Eggs laid along the locusts’ path are due to hatch and create a second batch of locusts in key agricultural areas.
The arrival of the locusts could be catastrophic in South Sudan, where war followed by drought and floods has already left six million people — 60 percent of the population — facing severe hunger.
Agriculture Minister Onyoti Adigo Nyikiwec said the locusts had come from Uganda on Monday.
The invasion of locusts into South Sudan is a major concern since the youngest country in the world is already faced with food security issues which are not yet to be resolved because of the civil instability that has loomed for the longest time the country has existed.