RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: A former chairman of the standing committee on agriculture produce of the FPCCI and Secretary-General (Federal) of the Businessmen Panel Ahmad Jawad has said Pakistan imports a substantial quantity of soya beans to feed its poultry, and now “we can be seen catching locust as a good replacement of soya bean because it has more protein”.

Amid the rising locust threat in Pakistan, he said that Prime Minister Imran Khan backed an idea for dealing with the locust threat in the country under which the government would provide financial incentives to the people for catching locusts and then selling these insects to poultry farmers who could use them as poultry feed. The prime minister endorsed the proposal while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet two days back.

Locusts could be captured at night, and feed mills may utilize them as a byproduct and purchase from the community. The processing cost of drying and milling locusts is only 30 rupees per kilogramme, he said.

A pilot project had been successful in this regard at Okara district. Now catching techniques may publicly be announced by the provinces for the rural and local community.

He warned that if we didn’t control locusts properly this year the country could suffer about US$3 billion loss due to locust attacks, and a reduced harvest could increase inflation in the country.

Currently the entire country was under the threat of an attack by desert locusts but around 37 percent area of Pakistan was more vulnerable to such attacks.

“If the desert locust is not contained, Punjab and Sindh may become summer breeding zone of the pest. There is also a need to evolve a regional mechanism for collaboration in South Asia to exchange information to fight such cross-border ecological and natural disasters. An urgent virtual meeting of agricultural ministers of Pakistan, India, Iran, Oman and Afghanistan may be convened,” he added.

In this regard Ahmad Jawad said Pakistan may consider accepting an Indian offer on locust cooperation.

Six meetings between locust officers were held every year (June to November) either at Munabao or at Khokhrapar for exchanging information on locust situation, he said.

Wireless communication between Jodhpur and Karachi is also maintained every year during this period (June to November) for exchange of locust information between the two countries. Locust infestation 2019–20 has impacted more than 10 countries in Africa and South Asia, and Iran, India and Pakistan are currently affected by the crisis.