-Down to Earth Locusts around 500 km away from districts. Experts say little possibility of them entering state The Bihar government’s agriculture department has begun mock drills in villages and launched an awareness campaign, over fears that locust swarms may enter the state. Ten of the state’s districts that border Uttar Pradesh were put high alert. The districts include Aurangabad, Bhojpur, Buxar, Gaya, Gopalganj, Kaimur, Rohtas, Saran, Siwan and West Champaran. The Locusts...
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Hari Sharma, agricultural scientist formerly associated with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), interviewed by Kunal Shankar (TheWire.in)
-TheWire.in In an interview for The Wire, the former ICRISAT scientist says the damage could have been contained if the government had acted promptly to warnings. The desert locust is a deadly agricultural pest that has been on a feeding spree across North Africa, West Asia and South Asia. Lore and mentions of locust swarms exist in the Mahabharata, the Bible and the Quran. But it has been largely absent from the...
More »From Beating ‘Thalis’ To Revving Tractors: Farmers Try Innovative Ways To Keep Locusts Away -Tabeenah Anjum
-Outlook India This year, the first locust attack happened on May 11 in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan. So far, 90,000 hectares in 20 districts have been affected due to the locust attack. Ever since the first locust attack happened in Barmer in May last year, Sher Singh Thakur is having sleepless nights. His village Tambor is only two kilometres from the India-Pakistan border. The fear of Locusts attacking his...
More »UN body warns of another invasion of Locusts in July
-Hindustan Times In its situation update on Thursday, FAO said early migration of spring-bred locust swarms from southwest Pakistan to Rajasthan occurred in May before the monsoon, and some swarms travelled to northern states for the first time since 1962. Jodhpur/ Jaipur/ Bhopal: India might face another attack of crop-munching desert Locusts in July, the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) has warned amid an ongoing outbreak that has prompted...
More »Climate change has exacerbated India’s locust threat
-The Hindu Business Line While dealing with an ongoing invasion, the government should, however, desist from using organophosphates right at the outset, as these could have serious health and ecological consequences After nearly three decades, India is faced with a serious locust invasion. While early swarms have already reached Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, a massive surge is expected in July as swarms are expected from West Asia and as far as the...
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