Giant locust storm after Covid -19
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s response to natural disasters is expected to be tested again this summer when a giant locust storm from the Horn of Africa is expected to attack farmlands in South Asia. We as community must discuss implications and if there are experts give inputs to Government.
the government is preparing for a “two-front war”— one, which was ongoing against the COVID-19 infections and another to ensure food security — in anticipation of the locust attack on farms.
“We are preparing for a worst-case scenario. Starting from the Horn of Africa, and joined by desert locusts from breeding grounds en route, one locust stream can travel over a land corridor passing over Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India, impacting farmlands in Punjab, Haryana and the Indo-Gangetic plain. But another stream passing over the Indian Ocean can directly attack farms in peninsular India, and then head towards Bangladesh. Together, this can cause a serious food security issue,” a Government official said.
The destructive power of a typical locust swarm, which can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres, is enormous, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on its website. A one square kilometre swarm, containing about 40 million locusts, can in a day eat as much food as 35,000 people, assuming that each individual consumes 2.3 kg of food per day.
An FAO situation update of April 21 paints a grim picture. It spotlights that desert locusts, which are breeding this spring in East Africa, Yemen and southern Iran, will gravely heighten the threat to food security in the Afro-Asian region.
Most countries combating locust swarms are mainly relying on organophosphate chemicals, which are applied in small concentrated doses by vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers.
The looming locust attack, which could undermine food security in the Afro-Asian region, follows the economic devastation, and the savaging of incomes, by the COVID-19 pandemic. more
the government is preparing for a “two-front war”— one, which was ongoing against the COVID-19 infections and another to ensure food security — in anticipation of the locust attack on farms.
“We are preparing for a worst-case scenario. Starting from the Horn of Africa, and joined by desert locusts from breeding grounds en route, one locust stream can travel over a land corridor passing over Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India, impacting farmlands in Punjab, Haryana and the Indo-Gangetic plain. But another stream passing over the Indian Ocean can directly attack farms in peninsular India, and then head towards Bangladesh. Together, this can cause a serious food security issue,” a Government official said.
The destructive power of a typical locust swarm, which can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres, is enormous, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on its website. A one square kilometre swarm, containing about 40 million locusts, can in a day eat as much food as 35,000 people, assuming that each individual consumes 2.3 kg of food per day.
An FAO situation update of April 21 paints a grim picture. It spotlights that desert locusts, which are breeding this spring in East Africa, Yemen and southern Iran, will gravely heighten the threat to food security in the Afro-Asian region.
Most countries combating locust swarms are mainly relying on organophosphate chemicals, which are applied in small concentrated doses by vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers.
The looming locust attack, which could undermine food security in the Afro-Asian region, follows the economic devastation, and the savaging of incomes, by the COVID-19 pandemic. more
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The Government at Center is though Efficient but starts Diggin Well when the Town is on Fire. The same thing they did with Covid Attack in Jan-Feb 2020. Therefore instrad of concentrating in Bringing More Corona Infected people from abroad, they must concentrate on Deployment of Aircraft to tackle the imminent Locust Attack. more
May 08
Spraying of hydrogen peroxide through drones may be considered. It is a very powerful oxidizing agent - will kill all living materials in no time. At the same time, its residual life is too short. Thus, leaving no chance to cause harm to other living system -though food chain. Even the dead locusts after rotting may form manure. No danger is foreseen if such dead insects are eaten by birds or poultry animals. more
May 06
Is the role of FAO only that of an informer or that of addressing the problems ? Doubts arise about the justification of such bodies and huge budgets at their disposal because of world funding . more
May 01
An irony. While FAO is able to predict the flight of breeding locust swarms from East Africa(Horn Of Africa) to its final destinations of Pakistan, India & Bangladesh, why FAO fully empowered and equipped not able to wipe out or abort the breeding of Locusts from the place of origin itself. Is the food security being created by inaction and by asking poor nations to engage in fire fighting ??? Disgusting to experience role of world bodies under UN like WHO complacent in spread of #WuhanVirus in 134 countries. It reflects a lot on accountability on UN bodies and their failure in meeting the challenges. more
May 01
