GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - Tajikistan needs urgent help to combat a locust infestation that threatens the impoverished country's food supply, the United Nations said on Friday.

More than 150,000 hectares of the Central Asian country are covered in locust eggs and larvae at various stages of development, said Elisabeth Byrs of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The insects threaten Tajikistan's maize and wheat crops and could cause shortages and exacerbate upward prices on food staples in the country, following global commodities rises that have sparked riots in developing countries around the world.

"There is a real danger for the food security of the population because of these (locusts)," Byrs said. "The pest is developing quicker and earlier than usual."

Locusts have affected the former Soviet republic before but on a smaller scale. The current infestation affects an area 30 percent larger than seen in 2007, Byrs said.

The Tajik government's national pesticide stocks are running out, and the U.N. has received only $13 million of the $25 million it has sought in emergency aid to combat the insects and provide food assistance to hungry people there, she said.

"Rapid action is needed to avoid a food crisis," Byrs said, noting the country of 7 million people also faces threats from floods, landslides and pockets of drought. Tajikistan shares borders with countries including China and Afghanistan.

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