In India, locusts are normally sighted during July- October along the Pakistan border. Last year, parts of Western Rajasthan and Northern Gujarat reported swarms that caused damage to growing rabi crops. These were the first swarms reported in India since 1997. This year, the first sightings of small groups were reported early — on April 11 — by scientists of the Agriculture Ministry’s Locust Warning Organization (LWO), from Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan.
So, we are gonna read about what is a locust? Why is it a threat to India? And, what are we doing to combat it?
What is locusts?
Locusts are insects that belong to the family of grasshoppers. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) describes them as the oldest migratory pests in the world, with the desert locust being the "most devastating" of them all.
And swarms of these ‘deadly’ desert locusts have now made their way to India, threatening our agricultural economy.
These insects are usually solitary and harmless to humans. However, certain environmental conditions like prolonged monsoon and heavy cyclones make them reproduce faster – almost 20-fold within three months.
As their population becomes abundant and dense, they change their behaviour, form swarms, and start damaging crops.
WHY ARE THEY DANGEROUS?
According to FAO, an adult locust can eat a quantity equal to its weight – about 2 grams –every single day. Every single day, if they cover 130-150 kilometers, they can eat the food consumed by as many as 35,000 people.
For example, a swarm the size of Paris eats the same amount of food in one day as half the population of France; the size of New York City eats in one day the same as everyone in New York and California.
However, it is also important to note that these locusts do not directly attack human beings or animals.
India is witnessing its worst locust attack in 26 years, reported PTI. On Monday, 25 May, as predicted, many states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh started their battle against the locust attack. The current swarm originated in East Africa and has reached India via Pakistan. The locusts have already destroyed crops in 18 districts of Rajasthan and almost a dozen districts of Madhya Pradesh. It is feared that 17 more districts in the state including Aligarh, Mathura, and Jhansi will be hit in the next couple of weeks.
HOW IS INDIA RESPONDING TO THE LOCUST ATTACK?
At present, the primary method of controlling desert locust swarms is by spraying small concentrated doses of chemicals, by vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers. However, this year, India is experimenting with a different approach.
BR Karwa, project director, Agricultural Technology Management Agency, told IANS, “It is for the first time that drones and planes will be used to fight the locust attack in Rajasthan.”
Hence, Union Minister for Agriculture Kailash Chowdhary has requested the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to help the government with planes that can fight the locust menace from a height by spraying pesticides, he informed.
To combat this, the farmers in UP have devised a unique method to keep the locusts away from their farms and crops. In a video tweeted by UP cop in Jhansi, Rahul Shrivastava, a vehicle fitted with DJ system can be seen blasting music to minimise the potential damage of the crop-hungry locusts.
Along with the video, the cop wrote, "DJ isn't just for dancing and parties but is also effective in warding off locusts. Everyone sees a new morning, you can make noise or bang utensils to do them away."
Here are some more videos of this unique technique that farmers have implemented.
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