Just when you thought North Africa didn't need any more problems, with grinding poverty, Islamic extremism and the crisis in Darfur....

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched an urgent appeal for $83 million to curb a deadly locust plague ravaging north and western African crops. Government ministers from Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia met in Algeria this week to discuss efforts in their countries to deal with the problem before drafting a plan at regional level.

News clip from today's Global Development Briefing by the Development Executive Group