Eritrea

Allocation	$500,088
Emergency type	Insect infestation
Window	Rapid Response
Recipient UN Agencies	FAO
Group of people targeted	Other affected persons
Number of people targeted	46,651
Status	Under Implementation
Allocation code	CERF-ERI-24-RR-1442
Title	CERF Rapid Response: Eritrea Dec 2024 (locusts)

Overview of the humanitarian situation

According to desert locust surveys conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO in December 2024, there is increasing desert locust breeding with solitary adults now present in almost every place visited by survey teams. Groups are already forming in many places where breeding has been ongoing for two to three generations. Eritrea could face escalating threats to its agricultural production and food security in the coming months due to the increasing prevalence of locusts, particularly if coastal areas receive more rains or swarms of locust move to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts once the summer vegetation dries out in the interior of Sudan and Yemen. Infestations of tree locusts have been simultaneously observed. These twin infestations could affect the entire coastal area of Eritrea and put approximately 50,000 hectares of cropland and 450,000 hectares of rangeland at risk. If left unchecked, the infestations could potentially affect the livelihoods of about 600,000 people who are dependent on crop and livestock production. As many as 700,000 sheep and goats, and 200,000 cattle would also be deprived of their feed sources, potentially leading to loss of body condition, poor productivity, and even death.

CERF-funded assistance

This CERF allocation funds FAO in its early action support to the Government to prevent large-scale locust infestations, which could affect up to 600,000 people if not controlled, threatening rural livelihoods and food security.

Projects included in this allocation

Organization	Project title	Code	Amount in US$
FAO	Strengthening early action and response to locust threats in Eritrea	CERF-ERI-24-RR-FAO-34623	US$500,088	Read more