(IRIN) - Field teams combating swarms of migratory locusts that descended upon 2,700 hectares of farmland in western Yemen say they have the situation under control. "The locusts have not caused damage since they are found on acacia trees, and our teams are working hard to halt their spread," Abdu Far'e al-Rumaih, General Director of the Desert Locusts Control Centre (DLCC) at the agriculture ministry, told IRIN on Sunday. He added that four teams, consisting of 28 men with six vehicles, had so far decontaminated 450 hectares of the locust-infected Ras Katheeb area of the Red Sea coastal province of al-Hudeidah, 226km from Sana'a, the capital. "The teams will fumigate the whole invaded area until 21 March. Residents, who are helping our teams, have taken their animals to other areas," he said, ruling out the possibility of more locust swarms in other areas.
Al-Rumaih added that there were about 15 to 30 locusts in each square metre of the swarm. With one hectare being the equivalent of 10,000 square metres, an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 locusts would be in Yemen's swarm. According to specialists, an adult locust can consume its own weight, two grams, in food per day. A small swarm can eat as much food in a day as 2,500 people and is therefore capable of destroying a crop field in seconds. Nearly all crops, and non-crop plants, are at risk.