India has suggested the setting up of a high-level coordination group of countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran to deal with the desert locust menace.

Strengthening of joint coordinated efforts with the Locust Warning Organisation, state governments, Border Security Force and farmers was discussed at a meeting chaired by agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal.

The plan for next year was discussed after taking into account inputs from different stakeholders keeping in view this year’s experience as well as prevention and control measures taken to protect crops from locust attack in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The Centre also plans to conduct awareness campaigns and training for state government officials, BSF personnel, revenue department officials and farmers at the village level.

What are locusts?

Locusts are the oldest migratory pests in the world. They are capable of forming swarms. They cause great devastation to natural and cultivated vegetation. They are indeed the sleeping giants that can flare up any time to inflict heavy damage to crops, leading to national emergency of food and fodder. Locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind.

Four species are found in India - desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), Bombay locust (Nomadacris succincta) and tree locust (Anacridium spp).

The desert locust is the most dangerous pest species in India as well as in the intercontinental context. During plagues, it can easily affect 20 per cent of the Earth’s land, more than 65 of the world’s poorest countries and potentially damage the livelihood of one-tenth of the world’s population.

The magnitude of the damage and loss caused by locusts is gigantic as they have caused starvation due to its being polyphagous feeder. On average, a small locust swarm eats as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels or 2,500 people. Locusts cause damage by devouring leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark and growing points and also by breaking down trees because of their weight when they settle down in masses.

The attack of the desert locust used to occur earlier in a phases of plague cycles (a period of more than two consecutive years of widespread breeding, swarm production and thereby damaging of crops is called a plague period) followed by a period of 1-8 years of very little locust activity called as the recession period again to be followed by another spell of plague.

Recent outbreak in Indo-Pak border

In India, the latest locust outbreak - the biggest in 26 years - began late last year in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and recently Punjab was also affected. In Gujarat, locust attacks in December damaged crops, mainly rapeseed and cumin seed, planted on about 17,000 hectares. In Rajasthan, 360,000 hectares came under attack.

Scientists said that the recent outbreak along the India-Pakistan border may have been driven by the longer-than-usual monsoon rains across the region, and frequent cyclones in the Indian Ocean.

India was able to bring swarms of desert locusts under control. A number of timely measures and a change in wind direction have prevented a spread and large-scale damage to the rapeseed and cumin seed crops. However, an outbreak in Pakistan has again raised concerns about the safety of crops such as wheat and oilseeds in India.

Pakistan, which is facing the worst locust infestation in two decades, has declared a national emergency.

The plague has already caused extensive damage to pastures and crops and threatened food security in several countries over the Indian Ocean in East Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya Eritrea and Djibouti. Swarms have also spread into Tanzania, Uganda and now South Sudan.

India is buying drones and specialist equipment to monitor the movement of locusts and spray insecticides to ward off a new outbreak that could ravage crops, officials said.

Uttar Pradesh is guarding itself against a possible locust attack on its sugarcane farms by conducting awareness campaigns for farmers. Haryana has also been put on high alert after reports of locus attack in neighbouring states.

Locust Warning Organisation

In India, the Locust Control and Research (LC&R) is responsible for control of desert locust and is being implemented through the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), which was established in 1939 and later amalgamated with the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage in 1946.

The LWO is the oldest national locust monitoring system in any locust-affected country, dating from the British colonial period.

The LWO is responsible for monitoring and controlling the locust situation in the Scheduled Desert Area (SDA), mainly in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The LWO keeps itself abreast with the prevailing locust situation at national and international level. Border meetings between the locust officers of India and Pakistan are held every year (June to November) either at Munabao or at Khokhrapar for exchanging information on the locust situation.

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