Farmers in Madagascar have been struggling to protect their crops from a swarm of locusts which has descended on the island.

The swarm, which was estimated to be several kilometres long, appeared near the capital, Antananarivo, at the weekend.

Soldiers have been helping villagers to spray pesticides; other residents have started bush fires.

Since the swarms began appearing in southern Madagascar nearly a year ago, locusts have overrun four million hectares of land.

A national committee set up to try to stop them spreading to the north has been hampered by lack of funds.