LARKANA: After destroying near-mature crops in Aghani and several other villages as well as a vast part of the adjoining katcha area a day earlier, a huge swarm of locusts on Friday turned to Keti Mumtaz, Sharifpur, Bhuttos’ Estate and its surroundings again.

Reports from the affected areas suggested that the swarm swiftly and vigorously devoured the recently cultivated wheat crop in a big area and was still there to attack more areas.

In the absence of any measures or assistance from the government and an indifferent attitude being shown by local officials of the agriculture extension wing, growers and peasants were seen making desperate attempts to save their crops from the massive attack. They were mostly employing traditional methods like beating drums to make loud noise to scare away locusts and burning weeds, dry grass and junk to create smoke that could push the swarm away from their fields.

However, all their attempts have proved to be an exercise in futility so far. Some of the people said that such methods worked to the extent that the locusts would leave the targeted places just for a while. The locusts’ swarm has already inflicted heavy damage to the guava crop in a considerably vast area in the district. The produce was ready to be taken to market within a week’s time.

The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Larkana chapter, warned that if no action was taken by the agriculture department, small growers who had taken loans for cultivation would not be able to pay off the loans or make two ends meet.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2019