This paper gives an account of the activities of the International Red Locust Control Organisation for Central and Southern Africa (IRLCO-CSA) in the management of the red locust, other locust species and non-locust migratory pests in the 1980s and 1990s. It also analyses the advances made by IRLCO-CSA in implementing a preventive control strategy so as to avoid future plagues and outlines the activities of IRLCO-CSA during periods of locust recession.
There were widespread upsurges throughout the 1980s into the 1990s, with outbreaks being recorded throughout the period 1985–1997. Without doubt, the period 1981 to the present, was the most active since the suppression of the last plague in the 1940s. It is concluded that the threat of red locust plagues is not yet over and that the continued existence of IRLCO-CSA remains key to the food security needs of the region.
