"THE LOCUSTS invaded at 4 p.m. At first, the villagers used the
traditional methods of fire and shouting, but it didn't work,
and we were very afraid." Hama Ongoiba from Bandiagara, a remote
desert parish in Mali, in West Africa, remembers locusts
"breaking off branches as they passed through". He says that
nearly all the harvest was destroyed in 48 hours - millet,
sorghum, vegetables, and peanuts. "After the disaster, 90 per
cent of the young people over 15 fled, hoping to find somewhere
else to work and make money. Those who stayed have gone to other
villages, where the harvest has not been destroyed, to help them
with the harvest and return to us with what food and money they
can bring. So far, we have received no help from the government
- only words and promises." Christian Aid is among the
organisations addressing the problem. Twenty-eight new teams in
the Bandiagara area are being taught to protect crops from
future locust attacks. People are being taught how to collect
and bury locust eggs, to prevent