Anti-locust campaign kicks off in Samangan

AIBAK (Pajhwok): In response to grower concerns, a campaign for the eradication of locusts attacking crops has kicked off in northern Samangan province, an official said on Saturday.

Gulabuddin Ghayasi, plant protection manager at the agriculture and livestock department, told Pajhwok Afghan News the campaign had been launched in all parts of the province that were under threat from locusts.

He said around 15,000 hectares of farmland possibly infected by locusts would be sprayed with insecticide. Ghayasi said 5,000 litres of insecticide procured by the agriculture and livestock department would be sprayed by five teams each having 10 members and a professional expert.

The drive would be implemented in Taikhonak, Rubatak, Manqutan, Achqadoq, Dasht Khairabad, Tangi Ajrim, Dasht Larzaghan, Laili Sai, Omly and Gawa areas of Hazrat Sultan district and parts of Khuram Sarbagh and Darai-Sauf Payeen districts over 75 days.

He said the locusts appeared after the weather got warm and that was the reason why the agriculture and livestock department has initiated the campaign. If the drive was not carried out, the pests would soon spread to all farms, he warned.

Niamatullah, 48, a resident of the Baba Qamar area of Khuram Sarbagh district, said grasshoppers emerged about 10 days ago and they were currently feeding on pastures.

“I have cultivated 840 kilograms of wheat on 30 acres of rain-fed land. The grasshoppers, if not eliminated, will destroy all my farms,” the grower feared, calling for timely action.

Chariqul, a 53 years old man from the Taihkhonak area of Aibak, was happy about the launch of the campaign and said the annual drive by agriculture officials in their area helped protect his crops from locust attacks.

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