India free from presence of locust swarms
Dec 22, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 22 : Good news for farmers whose rabi crops were just sowed as India is currently free from the presence of swarms of locusts.
During the routine survey conducted by the Locust Warning Organization-Jodhpur which is under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the country was found free from desert locust activities during December 1-15, 2022. Breeding of such grasshoppers too was not reported.
Rabi crops are mostly sown during October and November and the produce is harvested from January to March depending on the maturity of the commodity.
A total of 110 spots, mostly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, were covered while conducting the field surveys, the latest bulletin said.
Breeding of such grasshoppers too was not reported.
Locusts are voracious in nature and are known for their vegetation-destroying abilities and their large-scale presence may pose a potential threat to food security.
"No rainfall was observed at Scheduled Desert Area during the reporting period. As per observation of the surveyor, vegetation was found green at Suratgarh, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Barmer and dry at Nagaur, Phalodi, Jodhpur, Jalore, Palanpur, and Bhuj. Soil moisture was observed dry except few localities at Suratgarh and Palanpur," the bulletin said.
The bulletin, attributing United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization update, also said any locust activity is not expected upto the next fortnight in India. Besides India, the situation is currently calm in Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
For the record, the locust menace was at its worst in Pakistan in early 2020, when the country declared the menace a national emergency.
At the same time, India too witnessed a large-scale locust incursion in several Indian states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, some parts of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Swarms of locusts were first spotted in India in early April, in the districts of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan.
The swarms of locusts had damaged and destroyed a large portion of crop area but were limited mainly to Rajasthan.
