Agriculture dept defers employees’ leaves

Predicted rainfall will put crops at increased risk of locust attacks, says minister

KARACHI: In the wake of forecasts of rain in the province, Sindh Agriculture Minister Muhammad Ismail Rahoo announced on Friday that the leaves of all employees of his department had been postponed and an additional 98 teams were deployed in the field to prevent locust attacks.

According to Rahoo, rainfall would to increase the chances of locusts damaging crops in the province’s desert areas.

“Rainfall in the desert makes conditions more favourable for locust breeding and if it rains, it is predicted that they may lay 1,000 eggs per square metre,” he cautioned.

Keeping in view the situation, he said, the Sindh government had been spraying pesticides in various regions and 8,448 hectares of land had been disinfected in Badin, Ghotki, Khairpur, Sanghar, Naushero Feroze, Kashmore, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Dadu, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad over the last 24 hours.

So far, 27,433 hectares of land had been sprayed with pesticides across the province, he added.

While claiming that the provincial agriculture department was working day in and day out to monitor and survey the regions most at risk of locust attacks, he criticised the federal government for its “inaction” on the matter.

“Sindh’s citizens are waiting for the federal government to take preventive measures against locusts but it has not yet started aerial spraying in the province,” remarked Rahoo.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2020.