Sindh adds 41 more teams to its anti-locust fleet

Sindh Agriculture Minister says experts predict locust breeding to increase tenfold this year

HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has formed 41 more teams to combat locusts as experts predict a tenfold increase in locust breeding this year, said Sindh Agriculture Minister Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, while presiding over a meeting on Tuesday.

Rahoo said that the prediction made it crucial to solve the problem of locusts by August, before the plantation of major crops, cotton and rice, in the province.

He vowed to use all the available resources to combat locust swarms, which pose a dire threat the standing crops in Sindh.

The provincial minister said that the Sindh government had decided to take immediate measures to control locust invasion in desert areas and ordered relevant officials to employ their experience in controlling the breeding of locusts in the deserts of Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Sukkur divisions.

He maintained that locust swarms were the second biggest challenge faced by the country at the moment after the coronavirus and it needed to be addressed accordingly. Various international agricultural organisations have also warned about impending locust invasions and the issue should be dealt with diligence, the minister stressed.

He further informed that apart from 57 anti-locust teams, the provincial government had formed 41 more teams to combat the insects.

He added that a helpline had also been established to facilitate growers in dealing with locusts.

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