ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Pakistan faces a severe locust swarms attack in Rabi season - commencing from March - and as a precaution the Department of Plant Protection has allocated Rs39million to counter the pest on a war-footing and save country's fruits and crops from possible destruction.

Official sources told Dawn here on Tuesday that the Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) had already deputed various teams in Balochistan. The teams are busy in conducting plant monitoring, sampling and grading in Turbat, Khuzdar, Gawadar, Pasni and Quetta.

The department, they said, would soon take similar measures in Punjab where authorities were still very slow in taking various measures. The allocated amount, they said, was being spent on the procurement of vehicles and pesticide as prescribed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The FAO, in December last year, had warned Pakistan about the possible locust attack in March and April.

Wheat, which is the country's major crop, ripes from March to April alongside other Rabi crops which means that wheat would be the prime target of the dreaded pest attack. In case of any such attack, they said, Minfal would not be able to achieve its wheat target of 20.2 million tonnes for this season.

After the recent countrywide long wet spell, they said, the chances of the pest attack had further increased as humidity in the air tempted locust. West Africa, they said, was the breeding ground of the locust and its route to South Asia was through Saudi Arabia.

The sources said though Saudi Arabia seemed well prepared for any such attack, still a sense of panic could be seen among officials of the Department of Plant Protection as Pakistan seemed less prepared to meet any such attack.

AERIAL WING: The sources said the aerial wing of the Department of Plant Protection was not in full state of preparedness to meet any such attack as eight of its Cessna aircraft were in operational because of lack of repairs and maintenance.

PAST ATTACKS: Pakistan has already faced a number of locust attacks in the past. The pest attacked Pakistan early in 1990s but could not cause major damage to crops. However, it badly damaged the country's crops in 1960s and 1970s, they said.