Now that Provincial Disaster Management Authority cancelled holidays of employees, as pursuance of locust emergency deceleration in Balochistan. it is necessary to ask why the declaration had not been made earlier when the crop-ravaging insects first started flying into Dalbandin. According to a notification issued by the PDMA, all the officers and officials of the PDMA, Balochistan are directed to be present in the office during the holidays, amid ongoing locusts emergency in province. PDMA office to remain open on all the gazetted holidays, including Saturday and Sunday, notification tells. The desert locust plagues reaches back to ancient times, but even today the desert locust remains a major agricultural threat. It called on country and province like Balochistan in the “flight path” to take the necessary precautions to ensure the insects only had a limited impact. Left alone, the pests pose a real threat to food crops, livelihoods, food security, the environment and economic development. Scores of date and pomegranate orchards have already been eaten up. Farmers say they have seen stems of date palms eaten by the locusts within hours.

Our municipalities have very weak pest scouting and control systems. Most of the local government entomologists specialize in restricting mosquito populations. What is needed is an effective strategy put in place quickly and a campaign waged strenuously.  Earlier, Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar has said that the country is under severe locust attacks, which pose a substantial threat to the food security. “The locust attacks have occurred after 27 years and the government has directed the authorities to assess the value of crops lost,” he said. The minister made these remarks during his visit to Pipli Pahar, a locust-hit area in Okara, along with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal on Sunday. NDMA Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal said a comprehensive strategy had been formulated to eliminate the locusts through chemical spray. He said that army aviation and air force help would also be sought if the need arises. The government’s inaction on the matter displays its incompetence and a worrying tendency to not dispense federal resources to provinces where it isn’t in power.

Swarms of locusts destroy crops over many acres within minutes. Recession is when a neighbour loses a job; depression is when you lose yours. The outbreak is blamed in part on climate change. Unless the government addresses the situation on an emergency basis, matters are unlikely to come under control until drier weather sets in — and that would be quite late. The outbreak has also exposed how ill-prepared and ill-equipped the authorities are to handle such emergencies. According to the United Nations, the timing of pesticide spraying is important to stop the locust from damaging crops, plants and vegetation. The farmers from the affected areas have decried the inaction of the federal and provincial governments. The rulers must realise that further delay in spraying pesticide could multiply crop losses, especially of the smallholders.

There has to be a collective effort to get rid of this menace. The PDMA and provincial governments must act swiftly and timely in order to contain the situation before it ruins crops in all over the provinces and creates a food shortage, forcing imports that the province does not afford. Equipment shortcomings such as a lack of planes to airdrop pesticide, should be fulfilled with the help of the military if need be. One hopes the situation does not deteriorate further. Unfortunately, with this government, that is always a risk. However, some experts believe that Spraying insecticide can have a negative impact on the food chain and harm the insect and bird population. Government must need to ensure that the eco-system is not disturbed and harmful insecticide does not pollute the food chain.