DUSHANBE, July 27, 2010, Asia-Plus — The fight against locusts is going on in Tajikistan.
Qiyomiddin Ghaniyev, the head of the state unitary enterprise, Fight against Locusts, within the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), says, “Despite the taken measures, locusts have spread to the area of 101,730 hectares across the country to this day; 79,000 hectares have already been treated.”
According to him, some 600 people, 22 tractors and 450 manual pesticide sprayers have been involved in the campaign to combat locusts.
“In districts subordinate to the center, locusts have spread to the area of 28,200 hectares; the worst hit districts are Tursunzoda (9,000 hectares) Roudaki (7,000 hectares) and Hisor (6,000 hectares). In all, some 12,500 hectares of lands have been treated in this area,” said Ghaniyev, “In Khatlon province, locusts have spread to some 48,000 hectares of lands (some 46,000 ha have been treated) and in the northern Sughd province, locusts have spread to 24,300 ha. The worst hit districts in Sughd are Bobojonghafurov, Mastchoh, and Zafarobod.”
Due to the opportunely taken measures, locusts have not harmed the agrarian sector seriously, just pastures have been partially affected by them, Ghaniyev stressed.
