A total of 100 billion rials ($387,000) have so far been allocated to combating the new wave of desert locusts, swarms of which invaded Iran in late October, according to the director general of Pest Control Department, which is affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry’s Plant Protection Organization.
The first bands were spotted in Hormozgan Province’s Bashagard County on Oct. 28.
“We need another 100 billion rials to be able to battle the voracious pest effectively. To do so, we need the budget to be allocated by Nov. 21,” Saeed Moein was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The official noted that swarms of migratory pest are now on their way back from India and Pakistan to their natural habitat in southern Saudi Arabia and the Horn of Africa, which will pass through Iran’s southern provinces.
Mohammad Reza Mir, PPO’s spokesperson, said it is estimated that desert locusts will have to be fought on over 600,000 hectares in this round of invasion.
“This year and in the first round of locust invasion, which started on Feb. 19 and lasted until August, the pest was fought on more than 404,000 hectares, preventing any significant damage to our farms and orchards.”
Mir noted that battling the pest will continue until Dec. 15, which is the approximate time of their departure.
In February, the provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Kerman, South Khorasan, Khuzestan and Khorasan Razavi were swarmed by the locusts. Estimates are that the same provinces will be hit again this time.
The Plant Protection Organization of Iran battled the pest across 750,000 hectares in the previous round of attack, which cost PPO more than $2.74 million.
Desert locusts are yellow flying insects that grow to 10 centimeters and are considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world. A swarm covering one square kilometer contains up to 80 million locusts and can eat as much food in one day as 35,000 people. And they fly up to 150 kilometers a day and 3,000 kilometers throughout their lifespan.
Female locusts lay up to 80 eggs and live three to five months in three stages: egg, hopper and adult.
