ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam has said that desert locusts now exist only in Tharparkar.

A Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report indicated that the situation remained serious along the India-Pakistan border where monsoon breeding commenced by spring-bred swarms, including those returning from northern India. Substantial hatching and band formation was expected in August, it added.

Numerous first-generation hopper groups and bands formed in Tharparkar near Nangarparkar and the Indian border in the extreme southeast of Sindh from earlier laying, the report said.

Chairing a meeting of the National Locusts Control Centre (NLCC) on Friday, Fakhr Imam said that locusts only existed in Tharparkar. During the past 24 hours, he said, a survey of 260,000 hectares of land had been completed, while the control operation was completed on 1,085 hectares of the affected areas in Tharparkar.

Situation along border with India termed serious

The control operation was carried out on a total of 1.1 million hectares of land in the country during the past six months, according to statistics released by the NLCC.

The meeting was informed that the Space and Upper Atmosphere Resea­rch Commission of Pakistan (Suparco) was using space-based information to analyse areas with regard to their suitability as desert locust habitats based on vegetation, soil type and other factors. The results support surveillance and control operations by helping demarcate the locust-prone areas.

In the meantime, the Central Deve­lopment Working Party of the Planning Commission has approved the ‘Locust Emergency and Food Security’, which is the first federal agricultural project financed by the World Bank in Pakistan.

This is a direct response to the consensus that Ministry of National Food Security and Research’s policy function and coordination role in policy making, its implementation and emergency role across provinces should be significantly strengthened. The ministry is responsible for the overall project implementation with the support of provincial governments, DPP, NLCC, FAO and NDMA. The project cost envelope is $200 million.

The project will span out its activities all over Pakistan focusing migratory, breeding and infestation routes of desert locust. It will also en­­compass capacity building of the Depar­tment of Plant Protection (DPP).

The project includes compensation to farmers on account of losses due to locust, as well as livestock support programme to mitigate negative impacts of desert locust on the livelihood protection and rehabilitation.

Strengthening and establishment of food security and Nutrition Information System is a major component of the project.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2020