‘July’s locust invasions in Pakistan will be six times higher’

Pakistani farmers who have already suffered loss of millions of rupees due to locusts might be hit by another setback during the monsoon season, according to the Punjab government.

Officials have warned that winds that will blow from India to Pakistan during the monsoon season will bring along with them swarms of locust.

In July, the locust invasions will be six times higher than what is currently being faced, officials warned. However, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority claimed it is well prepared for it.

The authority said it has 12 pest control machines and has booked orders for 20 more that will arrive by the end of June.

The PDMA will also take the public’s help to counter the incoming locusts. “People can catch these locusts. We’ll pay them Rs20 for each kilogramme,” a PDMA official told the media.

The National Disaster Management Authority has set up a hotline 051-111-222-999 to register complaints of locust attacks.

In May, the Food and Agriculture Organization predicted a loss of Rs393 billion across Pakistan this winter if the locust attacks persists, but Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Chairperson Chaudhry Muhammad Anwer said the losses will exceed this due to the government’s ineptitude.