FPCCI on eradicating locusts before summer crop sowing

FPCCI Standing Committee on Agriculture is aiming to eradicate desert locusts before the summer crop sowing

FPCCI on eradicating locusts before summer crop sowing

FPCCI Standing Committee on agriculture is aiming to eradicate desert locusts before the summer crop-sowing. Former Chairman FPCCI , Ahmad Jawad declared that NDMA had battled with the worst desert locusts attack in past decades and it should introduce some new equipment to control the swarms before summer crop-sowing begins in this month.

So far 238,399 square kilometers have been surveyed on locust’s damage while 4967 square kilometers have been controlled that was not a considerable area with regard to the numbers of locust.

Desert locusts travel in herds which is termed as swarm and one swarm of locusts comprises one sq. kilometer in size and contains over 40 million locusts. Shockingly, they eat the same amount of food in one day as eaten by 35,000 human beings. 

Locusts have badly scattered across Pakistan damaging crops and orchards and also posing a great threat to food security. Jawad called upon provincial governments that with the help of National Food Security Division a National Action Plan should be carried out for a complete year of effective surveillance and control of desert locusts attacks in Pakistan on firm basis with a mandate to safeguard national food security through some constructive coordination.

“Every day is critical regarding locust If we wasted one day we faced a substantial damage in crops”, Jawad said adding “if locust crisis is not controlled in time, the results will be far damaging”.

Although colossal swarms of desert locust started blemishing crops in Pakistan last month but the situation has worsened even more since last week as currently more than 60 districts’ crops were badly affected these include maize, mung, mangoes, cotton and sugarcane crops .

This savage specie eat anything be it ordinary bark or fine seeds or flowers. They travel with a speed of about 93.2 miles a day which is equivalent to 149 kilometeres. 

Before these present attacks, locusts attacks were last seen in 1993. According to UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Pakistan’s 38% of agriculture fields are breeding grounds for the insects. 

Thus, it turns out that desert locusts attacks are more brutal than the current pandemic COVID-19. Since this cruel specie attacks on the food sources of mankind which leads to hunger and eventually to death. While COVID-19 will not attack unless one steps out their homes.

Jawad also urged upon the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) to come up with an effective action to contain spread of locust to rest of the areas without wasting time.