Africa emergency locust/grasshopper assistance (AELGA) : mid-term evaluation

The evaluation covers the period FY88-1990. The project has been remarkably successful in combatting the current locust outbreak by providing Missions with the TA, commodities, and aerial spraying services necessary for plague control. Although some problems have occurred, especially in procurement, the commitment of the project staff and other involved agencies has made the emergency assistance efforts a success. The project has made less progress in facilitating the longer- term control of such plagues. There are two main reasons for this. (1) The short-term demands of emergency assistance have overridden those of long-term development; this commonly occurs when these two objectives are combined in a single project. In the present case, even the few resources devoted to longer-term activities have been poorly used. Research, for example, has been inadequate and largely unusable. As a result, any future outbreaks of locusts will have to be dealt with in the same costly manner as at present, namely, aerial bombardment with pesticides. Institutional development, including the capacity for remote sensing and field verification, could reduce the number of outbreaks that become plagues. Now that the locust emergency appears to be waning, the project should focus on developing these institutional capacities. A long-term follow-on project should also be planned. Other recommendations include: (1) establishing implementation mechanisms for emergency control operations; (2) implementing short-term actions such as providing specific assistance to Missions, in-country training for health personnel, and public information campaigns; and (3) establishing technical panels to review research proposals.