Forty-second Session of the Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC)

Background

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organising the forty-second session of the Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC) in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development in Nairobi, Kenya on 13–17 March 2023.  

The Session is being organized after the successful implementation of the Global Emergency Response to the Desert Locust upsurge (2019-2022) that affected Eastern Africa, the Near East, and Southwest Asia. Kenya was among the severely affected countries, and despite its limited locust management capacity and the fact that Desert Locust swarms invaded for the first time in 70 years, the country managed to successfully prevent widespread locust crop damage.  

The FAO Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC), established in 1955 by FAO Director-General as a global coordinating body for Desert Locust early warning, forecast and prevention strategies, is the primary forum bringing together locust-affected countries, donors, and other agencies to discuss Desert Locust management. It provides technical advice to the FAO Director General, regional Desert Locust commissions, and other organisations. 

The DLCC provides a platform to share knowledge, technologies, and practices among national and regional locust control organisations, commissions, and partners engaged in locust control and help coordinate action for the future. The DLCC and regional commissions complement each other in their efforts to reduce the frequency, duration, and intensity of Desert Locust plagues through a preventive control strategy.  

 

The Session has the aim to: 

a) Promote global coordination among the national and regional locust control organizations and commissions, and partners; 

b) Overview of the Desert Locust situation and forecast;

c) Review the achievements of the Global Emergency Response to the Desert Locust upsurge (2019-2022) and lessons learned and preparedness for future emergencies; 

d) Share experience and up-to-date information on research, innovative technologies, and approaches for locust monitoring, early warning, and management; 

e) Provide guidance/recommendations for further strengthening the locust monitoring and early warning and preventive control and preparedness capacities; 

f) Discuss the future work plan (2023-2024), regular financial and administrative issues, as well as other topics of common interest as highlighted in the below agenda.  

The Session will also gather key partners who contributed to the Desert Locust Global Response and the experts engaged in locust to share their lessons learned from the Response to the Desert Locust upsurge of 2019-2022.