Swarms of Desert Locust can be of millions, fly up to 150 km per day and may travel nearly 2,000 km in their lifetime: Fakhar Imam.

ISLAMABAD -- Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research, Syed Fakhar Imam has said that swarms of Desert Locust can be of millions, fly up to 150 kilometers per day, and may travel nearly 2,000 kilometers in their lifetime to find a favorable environment for breeding.

He said that they rapidly reproduce and eggs usually hatch after about two weeks. Desert Locust, if not controlled, can generate a food security crisis or famine. These insects grow and multiply under favorable agro-ecological conditions, mostly in desert areas, and after consuming the vegetation in one area, they migrate to other regions where food is available for them, creating a threat to food security and nutrition. East Africa and South West Africa are today fighting and making coordinated efforts against a Desert Locust invasion unprecedented in the last 25 years.

Syed Fakhar Imam said that as part of the technical assistance to support the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to tackle the outbreak of desert locust in the country, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) handed over 20 Ultra Low Volume (ULV) pesticides micron sprayers for vehicles, 1303 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and 100 Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite communicator devices to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

Syed Fakhar Imam said that another 30 ULV sprayers are in the pipeline and will be delivered later this summer. The procurement of the sprayers for pesticide and protective gear, funded by the Government of United Kingdom through its Department for International Development (DFID), and the GPS devices, procured by FAO through its core funding, aims to boost desert locust surveillance and control efforts of the Government of Pakistan and protect livelihoods and food security of millions of small holder farmers across the country who are already affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This upgraded equipment for control operations and new technology for surveillance will contribute to scaling up ground surveillance and control operations that are currently underway to curb the largest desert locust infestation in 25 years in the country.

Syed Fakhar Imam said that the sprayers will allow gearing up control operations in the multiple and vast desert areas under threat to contrast in particular the expected next phase of Desert Locust threat following the Monsoons. The PPE will ensure the full safety of the teams delivering...

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