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Twenty districts across Western, Central, and Southern provinces have been classified as locust hotspots due to increased populations or breeding activity of Red Locusts and African Migratory Locusts, authorities have disclosed.
According to Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary John Mulongoti, the current outbreak has so far affected 29,321.3 hectares of land, including 3,241 hectares of cropland.
However, crop damage has been minimal as most farmers had already completed their harvests.
Mulongoti’s remarks were delivered in a speech read on his behalf by Western Province Permanent Secretary, Akapelwa Simomo, during a Red Locust Trainers Workshop held in Mongu on Wednesday.
“As you may be aware, locusts continue to pose a serious threat to agriculture and food production across the region, including Zambia,” Mulongoti said, stressing the pests’ capacity to rapidly destroy large areas of cropland.
He noted that the affected crops included maize, sorghum, millet, and rice—key staples critical to national food security.
In response to the outbreak, the government released funds to support surveillance, chemical procurement, as well as aerial and ground spraying interventions.
“Under Phase One, K14,580,965.85 was released, followed by an additional K6,603,000 in Phase Two,” Mulongoti revealed.
He added that to date, 135,532 hectares have been surveyed, with 7,887 hectares sprayed—mainly in Western Province, which remains the most severely impacted.
“In ecologically sensitive areas, biopesticides were used to mitigate environmental impact,” he added.
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