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The invasion could have been averted, were the monitoring system installed in the South back in 2010 as correctly operated as it was supposed to be. But it was not. The slightest neglect in this fight against locusts in Madagascar happens, however, to be paid dearly, as it is now. In the run of its long term campaign expected to develop until 2016, the FAO recently raised the alarm when locus were told to have claimed the western part of Madagascar. Ever since, the capital city’s outskirts experienced presence of the invading forces’ vanguards, and had ground to be grateful to the wind which repelled the main swarm back westwards. A certain number of cultivated surfaces suffered damages by then. In the southern part of Antananarivo city, some farmers feared for their strawberry trees, which finally escaped destruction with light damages. The long term fight against locust raids is a legacy left to the Great Isle’s ruling power. The country has not experienced such an extent of an invasion again since the end of the 1990s, also following the conclusion of a political transition which made the error of looking down on the issue.
Over the latest days, the so far quiet city of Antsirabe has been bearing the full power of a massive onslaught from legions of migrating locusts. Although the city has been through similar situations before, the local population's outrage is now revived by the feeling that no significant action has capitalized to turn the odds. As usual, the developing scourge and the lack of conclusive response will take their largest toll from local farmers.