During the routine survey conducted by the Locust Warning Organisation-Jodhpur, which is under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the country was found free from desert locust activities during the first fortnight of April.
Malathion, known for its efficacy in arid regions and minimal water usage, is considered a crucial tool in locust control. The aid not only addresses the immediate threat in Afghanistan but also serves to prevent the spread of locusts to neighboring Central Asian countries.
In a piece of good news for farmers, who are busy sowing Kharif crops presently, a survey has revealed that the country continues to be free of locusts, which had emerged as a grave threat to farm output a couple of years back.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that the invasion of locusts has caused more than 6,000 hectares of agricultural land to be destroyed in some northern provinces of the country.
Locusts are voracious in nature and are known for their vegetation-destroying abilities and their large-scale presence may pose a potential threat to food security.
During the routine survey conducted during the last fortnight of October by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the country was found free from gregarious as well as solitary desert locust activities. Breeding of locusts too was not reported.
New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): Supreme Court dismissed a PIL seeking direction for the constitution of a committee to look into the locusts' invasion of farm crops as well as giving directions to the Ministry of Agriculture to deal with the same.
New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): India on Thursday supplied the second batch of 20,000 litres of environment-friendly pesticide Malathion to Iran to fight the desert locusts menace.
New Delhi [India], July 16 (ANI): The Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday said that swarms of immature pink locust and adult yellow locust are active in parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 12 (ANI): A swarm of locusts has left behind a trail of destruction in half a dozen blocks of Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district.
Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): Inmates were forced to clang utensils to scare away a swarm of locusts that entered Firozabad District Jail on Friday.
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], July 11 (ANI): Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria on Friday urged the Central government to declare the menace of locusts a national disaster in the interest of farmers.