Not many would know that India has suffered from waves of locust invasions over last five decades. Close to 25 locust plagues and upsurges were recorded between the year 1964 and 1997 itself. Historically, it has been happening for a long time even much before India’s independence in 1947.
In the latest locust attack, large and aggressive swarms of these crop-devouring short-horned insects have invaded more than two dozen districts covering more than 50,000 hectares of desert areas of western India. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are the worst affected states.
The deployment of drones has added another dimension in the capabilities of Locust Circle offices to ensure effective control over desert locust. Even the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has appreciated that India is the first country in the world which is controlling desert locust through drones. Currently drone service providers have started work at Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagore and Phalodi (Jodhpur) district of Rajasthan with deployment of 12 drones till date in phased manner. The experience of use of drones has been more than satisfactory in inaccessible areas and for effective control over tall trees.
Meanwhile indigenous innovation too is adding muscle to the efforts. Leading the initiative, the Mechanization and Technology Division of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare has got a prototype of the indigenously developed vehicle mounted ULV sprayer for locust control developed through an Indian manufacturer under Make in India initiative. The trials of the sprayer have been successfully conducted in Ajmer and Bikaner district of Rajasthan.
It is heartening to see that the situation is being monitored constantly by higher authorities and needful is being done on priority basis. As per the data released by Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, locust control operation is in full swing mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Total of 62 spray equipments are being used by Locust Circle Offices while 200 employees of Locust Warning Organization are deployed for conducting survey and control work. As on 21st June 2020, locust control has been undertaken in 114,026 hectare area in Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
However,one of the worrying facts is that the danger is still not over as there is good possibility of another wave of locust attack as they will now start laying eggs after the onset of monsoon and continue breeding for two more months. Remember one square kilometre swarm contains about 40 million locusts and they can eat as much food as 35,000 people assuming that each individual consumes 2.3 kg of food per day. Therefore, it goes without saying that India has to maintain strict vigil and keep the counter measures steady.
14 Nov 2024