Fed govt plans to generate revenue using locusts.

ISLAMABAD -- Aimed at tackling the threat from swarms of locusts that have caused damage to the harvest in the agriculture-based country, the federal government on Wednesday mulled over a plan to convert locusts into fertilizer, media reported.

The process would not only help people affected by the locust attacks to earn money to overcome their losses but would also be helpful in tackling the issue through community mobilization.

The project would be launched by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFS and R) under which fertilizer would be generated by mixing locusts and bio-waste.

It will be helpful in producing a fertilizer having an increased presence of nine percent nitrogen and seven percent phosphorous.

A pilot project would be launched to covert locusts into fertilizer in Thar and Cholistan, desert areas of the country.

The government would give special training under the project to catch locusts while 50 collection centres would also be established to purchase locusts.

The ministry said that the project would help them improve crop production in the country by 15 percent and decrease the use of other fertilizers by 25 percent.

'100,000 tonnes of locusts will be helpful in producing 70,000 tonnes of the fertilizer,' it said...