Ethiopia experienced the worst desert locust outbreak in 2020, which increased food insecurity. This year, Woubet G. Alemu and Christopher S. R. Neigh published their article titled "Desert Locust Cropland Damage Differentiated from Drought with Multi-Source Remote Sensing in Ethiopia" in the Remote Sensing Journal (MDPI).  

Their research targets to estimate desert locusts' paths and breeding sites using satellite remote sensing and climate factors. The team used multiple remote sensing sources to conduct this study and analyze the damage of desert locusts in the region. One of the sources they benefited from is monthly PlanetScope Basemaps, provided freely by the NICFI Satellite Data Program. 

Additionally, to differentiate between cropland damage from desert locusts and the usual drought conditions of the region, the researchers made a detailed remote sensing-based analysis of drought in Ethiopia. They underline that drought has been a common phenomenon in Ethiopia and has devastatingly impacted agriculture, impacting food security and scarcity for many years.

Some of the findings through their research: 

“(1) locust infestations occur following intense rainfall that can support good crop vegetation growth; 

(2) locusts move toward good crop growing areas for feed; 

(3) damage is variable, crops can regenerate after invasion.” (Alemu & Neigh, 2022)  

Learn more about this research! Click here to check out the full article and see the results.