RAHIM YAR KHAN: Farmers in the district have not reported any fresh attack of locusts on their crops for the last four days.

According to UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, the country may incur huge losses in winter crops such as wheat and further big losses in summer crops being planted now. Different agricultural areas of the Rahim Yar Khan district had reported attacks of locust swarms on cattle fodder and fruit orchards but data of the district administration shows that the ratio of total loss of different crops and orchards affected by locusts is only 0.3pc.

Though a good size of the swarms has been eliminated, farmers are still crying about its presence and damages.

President of Progressive Farmers Association Punjab Jamil Nasir says the swarm attack is the worst that they have ever seen in their whole life. He said the swarms descended on the green agriculture fields and destroyed cotton, fodder and mango plants.

Senior vice president of Anjuman Kashtkatan Chaudhry Yasin said farmers were suffering the worst plague of locusts in recent history which has caused millions of rupees damage causing fears of long-term food shortages.

He said that in the past the first locusts swarm was witnessed before 1980. Recently, the first swarm came from Arab states last year in mid-2019. It is a helpless situation, he said. One of the worst hit districts is Rahim Yar Khan where Yousaf Ali Cholistani’s livelihood was destroyed last week in one fell swoop. “All my green crops, such as early cotton and mustard, were ruined by locusts,” he said.

He had borrowed Rs70,000 through micro-financing schemes to invest in farming and now all that amount is gone.

Kissan Bachao Tehreek president Naseer Warraich calls the plague as a dangerous and catastrophic threat to the economy agriculture and food security in Pakistan. This year it will be 10 times worse than last year. They are attacking from three sides, he said.

Kissan Ittehad leader Jam Umair Burara said that he had warned the district administration to start preparing for the locust plague that had just emerged in the different areas of the district. District organizer of Kissan Tehreek MD Ganga said the attack could have been prevented. “It was the responsibility of the government to help farmers against such destruction but the departments concerned didn’t take it seriously. It is also the duty of farmers as well to monitor and be safeguard of their crops day and night from locusts attacks,” he said.

Farmers are getting rid of locusts by beating drums, utensils and different sounds, he said. Pakistan Kissan Foundation chairman Syed Mehmoodul Haq Bukhari said that government should collect data on damaged crops and compensate the farmers in the district.

Deputy Commissioner Ali Shehzad told Dawn that heavy rains in Arab states in 2019 triggered explosive growth in the locust population and they began causing problems in the country last year.

In winter when locusts were retreating back to its original destination in African deserts, they stayed in Balochistan due to severe cold weather during their journey. By January end, Rahim Yar Khan district was locusts free but after its breeding season in February in different areas of Balochistan, its 100% eradication was not possible there. Initially, its hoppers started crawling and later its immature flyers entered Mianwali, Khushab, Bhakkar, Layyah, Jhang and Okara.

He added that after the complete surveillance mapping by Provincial Disaster Management Authority, all the movement of locusts was marked in March and April and by following cross referencing all the egg lying sites were destroyed.

He said that the district had been divided in 23 agricultural centres and in each centre, a 25-member team was operational. Each team is equipped with 10 shoulder mounted sprayer and 10 Jectow Tractor Sprayer machines. The combat operation is in progress in the district. He said the district could not be declared calamity hit because its 50 pc of mauzas were not attacked.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020