KABUL (SW) – With the invasion of Moroccan locusts in 12 provinces, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock has said that the locusts from neighboring countries seriously threaten the fields of border provinces.
Atiqullah Muslim, the head of plant protection at the ministry, urged the neighboring countries to work together to fight the invasion of flying locusts. According to him, Moroccan locusts have invaded 12 northern and northeastern provinces and three western provinces of Herat, Ghor, and Badghis, which have caused the most damage to the fields.
Mr Muslim said: “Now, according to our provincial information, 331 hectares of farmland have been affected by locusts, and locusts have affected the cultivated lands more, and the amount of damage is estimated at over 5 million afghanis, and these figures are subject to change.”
A number of agricultural experts say that the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock should provide the basis for more research in order to reduce the amount of locust invasion and eliminate it.
Ziaullah Hosseini, an agricultural expert, said: “Samples should be taken from agricultural lands and the places where locusts lay eggs should be found and the places where the eggs are laid should be destroyed in a practical way, and this will prevent the invasion of locusts.”
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, until now, 59000 hectares of cultivated fields have been cleared of locusts.
ENDS
