West Africa: FAO eclipses regional locust control body, but comes in for criticism

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has led international efforts to fight locusts across Africa and the Middle East for over 50 years, acting as a link between donors and the affected countries. But this time around, as the insects demolish crops across a wide swathe of West Africa, there have been problems. Donors ranging from the United States to the European Union have privately criticised the FAO for doing too little too late to tackle the current crisis and have accused the organisation of not being properly geared up to deal with it.