Massive locust attack expected in Sindh next month: officials

Farmlands in Sindh could once again come under a massive attack of locust swarms from Iran by May 15 which could prove even more harmful for the crops in the province as compared to the locust attack of the last year, reported The News on Sunday.

The information was shared by officials of the Plant Protection Department (PPD), who on Saturday attended a high-level meeting at the Sindh Secretariat on the expected locust attack in the province.

The PPD officials told Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah that up to 60 countries around the world have been affected by locust swarms.

The participants were informed that 30 spots have been identified in the province where camps would be established for tackling the issue of the impending locust attack. Some 57 teams comprising 180 personnel are being formed to address the emergency.

Each team will comprise officials of the agriculture department and the PPD.

It was decided in the meeting that 100,000 litres of pesticide will be sprayed through aerial means while 25,000 litres of pesticide will be used against locust swarms via the boom spray method.

The chief secretary expressed the resolve to utilise all the available resources to minimize the impact.

He added that the locust advance constituted another emergency for the province much like the COVID-19 crisis, and for this reason, the issue was part of the agenda of the next meeting of the Sindh cabinet.

Shah further said the latest technology and assistance of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) would be utilised for data collection related to hotspots in the province.

The agriculture secretary sought further allocation of funds and specialised vehicles for sprays.

The meeting also decided that 250 staffers of the agriculture department will get training from the PPD for surveys and fumigation.

The meeting, besides the agriculture secretary, was attended by the director-general agriculture, the director of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the director of the PPD, officials of the Pakistan Army, and other relevant officials.

Originally published in The News