Sindh to procure planes for spraying locusts

Agriculture minister complains Centre is ignoring provincial govt on serious issues

HYDERABAD: As locusts continue to ravage agricultural lands in Sindh, the provincial government finally appears to be finding its feet to conduct aerial spraying to kill the pests.

Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahu announced at a press conference at Sindh Chamber of Agriculture in Hyderabad on Sunday that the government will either buy or hire planes for the purpose.

Since the invasion of locusts began in May 2019, the province has been relying on the federal government's plant protection department for the aerial spraying. "The Centre has ignored Sindh on the issue of locusts as it has been ignoring our concerns over river water and other serious problems," bemoaned Rahu, describing the situation as a "calamity" in the affected areas.

He claimed that the province would buy planes or hire them using its own resources, adding that the Sindh government had so far sprayed 434,000 acres out of approximately 600,000 acres of desert land using its ground teams. Similarly, 154,000 acres of standing crops and over 100,000 acres of locust-affected crops have also been sprayed, he added.

"The Centre promised to provide insecticide and planes, but the promise has not been fulfilled," he stated.

According to Rahu, the affected lands in Sindh are being surveyed for damage, while the provincial government has procured 50,000 litres of insecticide for locust control operations.

Responding to a question about the Sindh government's petition in the Supreme Court against the Sindh High Court's judgment on the Sindh Tenancy Act, Rahu asserted that the provincial government would not act against the interests of peasants. He further claimed that Sindh would launch the Kissan Card programme this year in order to support farmers.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2020.