DR ‹ › Morocco remains on alert as desert locust activity continues to evolve following a regional outbreak that spread from Mauritania in January. According to assessments made public by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Thursday, the infestation zone stretching from northern Mauritania to southern Morocco has seen a decline in hopper groups and bands, while immature adult groups increased, with «a few mature adult groups resuming breeding» during the last dekad. In Morocco, surveys and control operations were conducted across large areas in the south, mainly targeting immature transiens adult groups, as well as numerous late-instar hopper groups and bands. One mature adult group and several immature adult groups were also detected near Tan-Tan. Control operations covered 39,042 hectares, including 20,600 hectares treated by aerial spraying. In the Sahara, last-instar hoppers are expected to complete moulting into immature adults and «migrate northward as well». The forecast further indicates that a second wave of mature adult groups and small swarms may move toward the Souss, Massa, and Draa valleys. As a result, authorities are expected to maintain high-intensity surveys and control operations in the coming weeks.
