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As predicted by the United Nations, India is witnessing armies of locusts swarming across the country – the worst such attack in 26 years. The insects are destroying crops even as the country has been brought to a standstill amid the coronavirus pandemic.
So, what is a locust? Why is it a threat to India? And, what are we doing to combat it?
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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.
These insects are usually solitary and harmless. 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. This is known as gregarisation. The change in behaviour is triggered by close physical contact, following which they then become inclined to disperse together to find food, a scientist at French research centre CIRAD explained in The Conversation.
According to FAO, an adult locust can eat a quantity equal to its weight – about 2 grams – every single day. Now, this might hardly seem like cause for concern.
But, a single square kilometre of the swarm can contain somewhere between 40-80 million adult locusts. Every single day, if they cover 130-150 kilometers, they can eat the food consumed by as many as 35,000 people.
A desert locust lives for about three to five months. Again, this is extremely variable and depends mostly on weather and ecological conditions.
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.
Gujarat and Punjab farmers have also been warned and have been asked to prepare for an impending invasion by the grasshoppers.
The United Nations had warned that armies of locusts swarming across continents pose a “severe risk” to India’s agriculture, and would have an impact on the economy this year.
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.
Unlike in the past, the locusts have changed their attack strategy this season and are flying at a greater height – against their basic nature. They usually fly in the low lying areas.
Despite the prevailing COVID-19 lockdown, the locust control offices are working since 11 April with 50 spray equipment/vehicles, the Union minister added.
According to FAO, the current situation remains “extremely alarming” in East Africa where Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia continue to face an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihood. They have also reached Saudi Arabia and Iran to Pakistan and ofcourse India, all while breaking into smaller swarms to travel across the country.
According to media reports, India has reached out to both Pakistan and Iran for a coordinated effort in dealing with the growing locust population in the region.
Meanwhile, Pakistan declared a national emergency to tackle locusts in January 2020, after predictions estimated that the country will incur a loss of more than 4 billion euros with respect to both summer and winter crops.
Experts warn that rising temperature, low rainfall and long dry spells could mean more locust swarms in our near future.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times, PTI and The Conversation)
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Published: 26 May 2020,04:32 PM IST