Massive locust attack in Madhya Pradesh, farmers appeal for govt help

Escalating locust attack in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have upset farmers and states have appealed to the government for help. However, in an attempt to protect the crops, farmers have taken initiatives like clanging thalis, bursting crackers among other methods to ward off the locusts.

Madhya Pradesh: Swarms of locusts that flew in from Pakistan have wreaked havoc in Madhya Pradesh. The locusts seen swarming the farms in biblical proportions has affected 28 districts of the state. According to rough estimates, crop damage of Rs 8000 Cr has been caused by these locusts which have been devouring through fruit orchards and vegetable fields.

The four big states that have been affected with these locusts swarm are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. These states have set up a team of 200 officers to respond to the locust attack.The Union Agriculture Ministry has stated that pesticides that kill the locusts have been sprayed in 47 thousand hectares of farmland. The swarm of locusts which entered Madhya Pradesh through Neemach and Mandsaur districts of the Malwa region are now wreaking destruction in Bundelkhand, Vindhya as well as in Gwalior- Chambal regions.

Farmers stay awake at night to ward off locusts

Farmers are staying awake in the night as they fear that their crops will be destroyed without warning by the locust swarm. Some of them try to ward off the locusts away by banging thalis, while some burst crackers, still, some of them are coming up with ingenious ways to keep the locusts at bay by removing the silencers of their vehicles and starting their vehicles. Some of the farmers who saw the swarm estimate it to be 2.5 km to 3 km long.

The districts of Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Sagar and Gwalior are the worst affected. During summer these regions see large scale cultivation of vegetables. These regions are also close to Rajasthan. Though the Rabi crop has been harvested, the state sees large scale farming of beans, vegetables, fruits and pulses during this period. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most of the crops are still in the fields and have not been harvested. The worst affected districts are Sheopur, Mandsaur, Neemach, Ujjain, Ratlam, Dewas, Aagar –Malwa, Raisen, Narsinghpur, Sihore, Hoshangabad, Chhatarpur, Satna and Gwalior. The troubled farmers have appealed to the government for help.

MP has faced locust swarms in 1993

This is not the first time that locusts have attacked the state. In 1992-93 and even in 2002, a similar attack by locusts had caused heavy damages to crops. This time due to the lockdown, the state was ill prepared to face the locust swarm due to the lockdown.

Agricultural Expert's view

GS Kaushal, an agricultural expert hailing from Madhya Pradesh told ETV Bharat that the life of a locust is 3-5 Months, but this time it is enough for them to cause large scale destruction of standing crops. He also added that as monsoon gets active the locusts will cause more trouble.

Fighting the locusts

Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said that high-level meetings are taking place to tackle the problem. Four teams from the Union government are working with state govt teams. MP government officials have stated that adequate measures are being taken to control the situation.