DUSHANBE, June 5, Asia-Plus – 78,500 hectares of farmland in northern and southern regions of Tajikistan have been affected by locusts, Habibullo Tohirov, the head of the plant protection department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (MoAEP), said.
According to him, they have undertaken efforts to tackle the problem. “In order curb the problem we have used mechanical and chemical methods to treat 58,700 hectares of the locust-affected areas,” the MoAEP official said, adding that a plane of the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES) has been used to treat areas in the Khatlon province.
“The emergency service’s plane has already treated agricultural fields in the Qumsangir district and today it will treat farmland in the Khuroson district,” Tohirov said. According to him, Qumsangir and Khuroson are the most hit areas.
Specialists say that more than eight tons of chemicals have to date been used to stop locusts destroying crops. According to them, they have enough chemicals and mechanicals supplies to treat areas but they have failed to treat some mountain areas, which are difficult to access; as a result those areas have become centers for spread of pests.
Experts also do not rule out that locusts are brought to the country by wind from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Until Tajikistan became independent in 1991, locust control in the country was conducted with resources made available by the central Soviet government. During Soviet times, two mobile locust control teams operated in the country and also provided services to neighboring Afghanistan.
