Lack of Food forces residents of Darfur to eat locusts

Events – Agencies

The General Coordination for the IDPs and Refugees in Sudan said that some residents of the Darfur region have resorted to eating locusts, due to the scarcity of food, which has caused high levels of hunger
The coordination sent a video – according to (BBC News Arabic) – showing piles of locusts displayed in a market in South Darfur state for the purpose of food.
A woman speaks in the background of the video, saying, “Hungry children cannot find any food except locusts and are forced to eat them.”
The head of the Office for Displaced Women in the General Administration of Displaced Persons’ Camps in the Darfur region, and a resident of the Sakali camp for the displaced in the state of South Darfur, Awatif Abdel Rahman Youssuf affirmed that some residents ate locusts.
She continued: “Some people eat locusts and others eat corn porridge (corn flour cooked with water). As for those who eat bread, their percentage does not exceed 20%.”
Residents of Jebel Marra in Central Darfur resort to catching locusts with pesticides or by burning them with fire, instead of buying them.
The price of a pile of locusts (less than a kilo) reaches 1,000 Sudanese pounds (equivalent to $2).
This is a very high price for the residents, according to what Adam Rijal, from the Coordination for IDPs told the BBC.
Locusts are not only hunted by residents, as traders do so as they depend on them as a source of livelihood to display and sell for food.
Others in Jebel Marra area resorted to eating tree leaves due to hunger, while some residents there eat the café plant.