Context: Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that India, which is tackling the worst locust attack in 26 years, should remain on “high alert” during the next four weeks.
Key Points

• Rajasthan is the most affected State in the country.
• The other affected states are Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bihar.
• The Indian government has stepped up efforts and is using equipment such as drones and Bell helicopters to control the menace.

Locust Swarms

• Locust is an omnivorous and migratory pest and has the ability to fly hundreds of kilometres collectively.
• It is a trans-border pest and attacks the crop in large swarms.
• Found in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, they inhabit some 60 countries and can cover one-fifth of the Earth’s land surface.
• Desert locust plagues may threaten the economic livelihood of one-tenth of the world’s human population.
• Swarms of locusts in the desert come to India from Africa/Gulf/South West Asia during the summer monsoon season and go back towards Iran, Gulf & African countries for spring breeding.
• In India, more than 2 lakh square kilometres of area comes under Scheduled Desert Area.
• Pink immature adults fly high and cover long distances during day hours from one place to another along with the westerly winds coming from the Pakistan side.
• Most of these pink immature adults settle on the trees during night and mostly fly during day.
• The immature locust is very active and their mobility makes it difficult to control the swarm at one location and it takes 4 to 5 days of control at different locations to control a particular locust swarm.

Locust Warning Organisation (LWO)

• The Union Agriculture Ministry’s Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) is headquartered in Jodhpur.
• LWO said that the locusts that came in 2019, after a gap of 26 years, were mature and had affected 12 districts of the State.

About Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• It was established by the United Nations in 1945 and is a neutral intergovernmental organization. 
• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
• It strives to provide information and support sustainable agriculture through legislation and national strategies, with a goal of alleviating hunger.
• It works to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. 

About Desert Locust

• The Desert Locust( scientific name Schistocerca gregaria ) is one of about a dozen species of short-horned grasshoppers (Acridoidea) that are known to change their behaviour and form swarms of adults or bands of hoppers (wingless nymphs).
• They are usually restricted to the semi-arid and arid deserts of Africa, the Near East and South-West Asia that receive less than 200 mm of rain annually.
• It lives a total of about three to five months although this is extremely variable and depends mostly on weather and ecological conditions. The life cycle comprises three stages: egg, hopper and adult. 
• Originating over Africa these locusts and moving from the western region to central and then eastern regions, as their population increases have entered India through Iran and Pakistan. 
• They are harmless to humans but pose a threat to vegetation and crops in their way. 
• They pose a threat to aircraft in the critical landing and take-off phase of the flight.