Locust feed on a plant. File photo

It will cost over 2 billion South Sudanese Pounds to respond to the locust reported in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security says.

On Tuesday, the minister confirmed the arrival of locusts in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State.

The desert locusts are now in Lobone, Magwi, Panyikwara and Owiny-kibul, according to Onyoti Adigo.

Adigo says the contingency fund will cater for pesticides, ground spraying equipment, spraying team, and aircraft to suppress the population and its further spread.

“We will need cars for ground spraying, we will need aircraft when its invasion gets serious like what is happening in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia,” he told the media.

South Sudan is a member of the Desert Locust Control Organization of East Africa.

Adigo revealed that he is currently working with, and sharing information with, the organization on the status of the desert locusts in the region.