East Africa’s operation locust swarm

Episode 8 

Locust swarms spanning up to 2400 square kilometres — the largest for a century — have been ravaging East Africa’s croplands over the past year. Yet could efforts to control the insects also be threatening buffalo breeding, tourism, national parks — and lions? 

The average swarm consumes more food in one day than 30,000 people. As the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization predicts new swarms in the region, Africa Science Focus investigates the battle to prevent famine and fight off the desert locusts, from helicopter insecticide spraying, to regional control missions.  

And, reporter Sarah Natoloo speaks with David Tusubira, one of the finalists in this year’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, to get a sneak peek at his hardware and software system that boosts the efficiency of solar panels.

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Africa Science Focus, with Selly Amutabi.