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Yemen Faces Locust Outbreak; Preventive Moves Begin Mid-July

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is organizing aerial operations to combat an imminent locust outbreak in Yemen, the Yemen News Agency reported.
 
The operations are planned to commence in mid-July in an attempt to minimize the threat to crops and pasture in Yemen and in neighboring countries.
 
The desert country, located south of Saudi Arabia, faces its worst outbreak of locusts in nearly 15 years, the FAO announced earlier this month.
 
"Widespread breeding is in progress within a large and remote area of an estimated 31,000 square kilometers [12,000 square miles] in the interior of Yemen, where locust swarms are likely to form," said FAO expert Keith Cressman following a weeklong assessment mission to the country.
 
Cressman estimated that overall between 50,000 and 75,000 hectares may have to be treated the coming summer.
 
A second generation of egg-laying is in progress and hatching has already started in a few areas, FAO warned.