Uganda deploys army, Pakistan imports insecticides from India as countries brace for locust attacks

Fighting locusts is the biggest problem emerging in the horn of Africa. The swelling numbers of locusts have threatened a food emergency in some of the African countries. But, the danger extends beyond Africa as several reports suggest that west and southwest Asia could be the next target.

The reports also say that even India and Pakistan will not be spared from the growing threat of locusts.

As locusts from Africa are headed to Pakistan and as the millions of inch-long pests are on their way to wage war on Pakistani crops, Islamabad has sought to import chemicals from India to fight them.

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In pics: Desert Locust swarms in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia threaten to ravage East Africa

Earlier this month, Pakistan also declared a national emergency over locusts after it destroyed the country's maize, cotton, wheat and other crops.

Some 40 to 80 million locusts are capable of wiping out food for 35,000 people.

Meanwhile, the Africa continent is also suffering from its worst locust outbreak in decades. These migratory pests have devastated large tracts of croplands in the north and central Africa.

What started with Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, it has now spread to Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan; and as per reports, a food emergency looms over these countries.

Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda recently held an emergency meetingin which the leaders discussed a strategy to tackle the desert locusts.

Ugandan officials are planning to deploy 2,000 soldiers and send supply equipment to tackle the invasion by desert locusts.

The state will also provide manual and motorised spray pumps to fight the locusts. The government is also considering aerial spraying of the locusts.

Earlier, the United Nations had also sounded a food alarm.

By June, the locust population is set to grow 500 times spreading to West Asia as well. The locust population is presently breeding in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It further expected to spread to Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea.

In southwest Asia, southern coast in Iran is the breeding ground.

Croplands in Pakistan's Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan will be the worst affected while, the bordering Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan could also face the brunt.

Many Asian and African countries have begun to prepare in advance.

The U.N. estimates that a locust control plan will cost an estimated 76 million dollars; what is available so far is just 20 million dollars.

A disaster is waiting to happen if nothing is done by next month.