Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says it was the worst locust infection in two decades
The government of Pakistan declared a state of emergency last Saturday, as the eastern part of the country was at the epicenter of the locust pest attack, the portal www.dw.com writes.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said: "We have faced the worst locust infection in the last two decades and decided to declare a state of emergency in the country to deal with the threat."
Desert locusts arrived in Pakistan from Iran in June and have already ravaged the crops of cotton, wheat, corn and other crops.
Weather conditions contributed to the breeding of the pest, and the government’s response was too slow. And now, large-scale locust destruction of important agricultural crops threatens the country's food security.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Minister of National Food Security Mahdum Khusro Bakhtiyar said that locust clusters are currently located on the Pakistan-India border around Cholistan and were previously noted in Sindh and Baluchistan.
“The locust attack is unprecedented and alarming,” Bakhtiar told Pakistani lawmakers at a briefing on Friday.
“Measures were taken against the insect on more than 121 hectares, pesticide treatments were carried out on 400 hectares,” the Express Tribune newspaper quoted the official as saying.
“District administrations, civil society organizations, aviation units and military forces have been deployed to combat locust infestations and preserve crops,” he added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to take the matter under his personal control, since the protection of agriculture and farmers is a priority for the government.
“The federal government will take all possible steps and provide the necessary funds to protect crops from any possible danger, with particular emphasis on the danger of locusts,” quoted Prime Minister Dawn as saying.
The last time Pakistan faced a serious locust threat was in 1993. Currently, the pest infects neighboring India and the countries of East Africa.
(Source: www.dw.com).
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