Locusts: where are the logistics?

The scourge from the sky has descended again. The locusts are on the move. As usual, they have bred in the North African deserts, moved to adjoining fertile lands and spread over to the Mediterranean, destroying whatever came their way.

A warning has been issued to Pakistan by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the country could be attacked in about four months, say, by March, when our wheat and other Rabi crops would be ripe.

Throughout human history, this pest has been doing its best to destroy vegetation essential for human sustenance. Such is the devastation caused by the locusts that the Bible and the Holy Quran have both mentioned it.

Pakistan, by virtue of its geographical location, falls in the migratory way of the locusts, favoured by winds (west-west south) which help them travel from African and Arab regions.

After independence, Pakistan has been attacked at least six times. In the early days, Pakistan had no means to combat a locust attack, and farmers were left to use their own indigenous measures. This was followed by invasions in the 1960s and 1970s, with a colossal loss to all kinds of vegetation.

By the time of the attack in 1978, Pakistan was in a much better position technologically to cope with the menace. However, a lethargic bureaucracy, greedy politicians and ill-trained technocrats ignored the warning given by FAO and allowed the pest to come and take its share.

The warning came months before the arrival of the first swarms, and as the rainy season was nearing, the climate was ideal for breeding. In no time Rajasthan was infested with nymphs and hoppers. We thought the heat and wind would take them away.

After a few weeks these young pests grew to full blown-up yellow and brown invaders and attacked everything they found in Sindh. This also led to an exchange of allegations between Pakistan and India, each blaming the other for not taking enough measures to control the situation.

The plant protection department woke up only when there was a hue and cry from growers and the general public. Its excuse was that it did not have enough equipment and anti-pest chemicals.

As the arguments raged between various departments, the insect grew by leaps and bounds. Finally, when the swarms had caused enough damage, the army was asked to take over, and using its own planes it destroyed much of the small but powerful enemy. But no one was asked to stand up and answer as to who was responsible for not taking advance measures when they were warned well in time.

This time, FAO and French experts from the Evolutionary Prevention System have been monitoring the locust movement, growth and the measures to be taken by African and Middle Eastern countries.

It was hoped that the swarms might be fully controlled by adopting coordinated efforts by the governments concerned. But in early December it became evident that the menace could spread because of climatic and ecological conditions and, most importantly, civil strife in many African countries and in Iraq.

If south westerly winds blow hard and a swarm of just one square kilometre reaches the subcontinent, it can cause great damage. In 1958 when locusts invaded Ethiopia, they devoured 167,000 tons of grain within days, which was enough for one million people for a year. As far as Pakistan's administration is concerned, no figures are available about losses suffered by locust attacks.

After the warning from FAO and French experts, the issue has merely been discussed by the ministry of food and agriculture, which controls the plant protection section.

When the question of measures was raised, it became known that all the eight planes of the plant protection department were unusable. They wanted a great deal of money to repair the planes and an even larger amount for the import of anti-pest chemicals.

The whole operation is again being re-evaluated. But as files shuttle between various departments, time is going by fast. The foremost requirement is to get our logistics right before the pests land, destroy them when they are nymphs and hoppers and be prepared to carry out an aerial operation when they are brown adults.

While an active operation on the ground can be effective for nymphs and hoppers, an aerial operation will need specific guidelines. Special training will be required to ensure that ecological life on the ground is not affected.

Strong monitoring in close collaboration with international bodies is also important. Rajasthan, like Thar, presents good breeding opportunities for locust, and India must be consulted. Let us not forget that a swarm can spread from 80 to 1,000 sq kms and can sometimes swell up to one billion insects.

Shahzad Manzer remembered

The seventh anniversary of Shazad Manzer (1933-1997), a reputed fiction writer and critic, was held on Sunday. Members of the Fiction Group remembered their colleague, a loveable and hardworking writer, who single-handedly contributed major publications on modern fiction as no other critic had done so far.

Writer Ali Haider Malik introduced the late Shahzad Manzer and conducted the proceedings of the meeting., presided over by Mohammad Raza Kazmi . Those who read out papers on the person and literary contribution of the late author, included Ms Nasim Anjum, Yawer Aman, Saba Ikram, Shamim Manzer, A. Khayyam. and Qaiser Salim, besides A. Zianuddin, editor of a literary journal, and Dr Mohsin, who narrated their impressions about Manzer.

Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Manzer belonged to a Memon family. His grand father, who actively participated in the Khilafat Movement, lost much of his belongings. Manzar, since his childhood, had to work hard for a living. After quitting his job in a Bangla paper, he went over to the former East Pakistan in 1965.

At Dhaka, he joined another Bangla paper, Chitrali, and also worked for its Urdu edition. A man of radical views, Manzer, who received his early political training from some Marxists, was once jailed in Dhaka for some months.

He authored 12 books, seven of them on the critical study of fiction. But he was a creative writer. His novel, 'Andheri Raat Ka Tanha Mosafir' and collection of stories, 'Nadia Khan Hai Tera Des', both dealing with the lives of poor farmers, were admired by most readers.

His research on the works of eminent story writer Ghulam Abbas, and an in-depth evaluation of Mohammad Hasan Askari, published in parts, are his major works. An equally important book was 'Jadeed Afsaney Ke Iblagh Ka Masela', a valuable book on the modern fiction.

Another book on political situation in Sindh, titled 'Sindh Ke Nasli Masael' reflected his comprehensive knowledge of the socio-political conditions in the country. Dr Kazmi, in his presidential discourse admired Shahzad Manzer for his many personal qualities.

He was a disciplined, highly-organized and hardworking person, who had inspired his friends to do likewise, he said, adding that besides being an honest person, having no malice or bias against anyone, including even his opponents, he worked selflessly for promotion of literary values.

It was noted that the late writer's many scripts were lying with publishers for many years without being published. The meeting resolved to contact the concerned publishers to get those scripts printed, or return those to his colleagues, who were determined to bring those script to light at the earliest.