Locusts are affecting Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s agricultural powerhouse, responsible for 80% of the country’s agricultural production.
A Locust swarms of up to 10km long and travelling up to 100km per day have so far destroyed an estimated 1,500 hectares of corn, sorghum, and other crops.
Authorities have declared Santa Cruz an emergency and have started an aggressive air spraying campaign with the government releasing an initial $700,000.
It’s reported that locust migrated to Bolivia from Argentina who, in early 2016, suffered the worse locust attack in sixty years, affecting 700,000 hectares.
Both, Argentina and FAO have announced they will send experts to assist Bolivia to mitigate the attack.