Full-scale locust invasion if timely action not taken, warns FAO.

Byline: Amin Ahmed

ISLAMABAD -- The Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations says that desert locust breeding in Pakistan is ongoing across 38 per cent of the land area and warns that the entire country could be under locust invasion if the pest is not contained in time.

According to a 'Desert Locust Crisis Appeal' document, released by FAO, the 38 per cent of land area comprises 60 per cent in Balochistan, 25 per cent in Sindh and 15 per cent in Punjab. The report says that mature adult groups of locusts have moved north in Sistan and Balochistan to South Khorasan, where they are laying eggs.

There are capacity gaps at federal, provincial and district levels, and FAO continues to provide equipment like 'eLocust3g handheld devices' for data collection and transmission in real time and vehicle-mounted sprayers coupled with technical capacity building, but more support is needed, the report said.

Furthermore, the Food Security and Agriculture Working Group (FSAWG) in Pakistan, co-led by FAO and the World Food Programme in coordination with the Ministry of National Food Security, is jointly planning needs assessment in 38 districts impacted by desert locust.

The FSAWG developed assessment tools in coordination with regional bureaus and is working on remote tool applications with FAO and partners.

The FAO says it has evolved a strategy to limit desert locust populations to the extent possible in order to prevent a fully-fledged plague from developing, and to curb the spread of desert locust, and seeking assistance worth $23.75 million from donors.

A very preliminary estimate for a worst-case scenario (devastating infestations) foresees about 34,000...

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