Breaking News English

The [livelihood / lively] of farmers and other food growers in East Africa is [over / under] attack from locusts. Authorities say swarms of millions of locusts are [lavishing / ravaging] large swathes of farmland and [vegetative / vegetation] . Millions of people are [at / to] risk after the insects destroyed crops in Eritrea, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda. The swarms of locusts are [spread-eagled / spreading] and could affect the agriculture, [bushland / bushy] and forests of neighbouring countries. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report that some swarms have been [sighted / envisioned] as far afield as Yemen and Oman in the Gulf. It is the worst locust invasion [at / in] 70 years and some say it is reaching Biblical [preparations / proportions] .

The locust invasion is [seriously / serious] affecting the lives of over 12 million people. Many of these were already experiencing food [insincere / insecurity] due to [poor / poverty] harvests from a [slack / lack] of rain. The swarms of locusts will only worsen the [blight / plight] of people living in the region. Locusts are extremely voracious pests. One locust can eat its [entire / entirety] body weight in just 24 hours. A small swarm could [chimp / chomp] its way through enough food to feed 35,000 people in just one day. Esther Kithuka, a farmer in Kenya, expressed her [concerned / concern] about the invasion. She said: "We depend a lot [on / to] this season and we worry that the locusts will destroy our harvest and we will end up remaining hungry through the [restive / rest] of the year until next cropping season."