Locusts Invading Samangan Fields

Locusts from the mountains of Kunduz province are causing threats to the farmers in northern Samangan province.

It is believed that locusts are migrating from the Gabar desert of Baghlan Province, Chuchal Mountains of Kunduz province and Khairabad desert of Balkh Province to the cleared areas in Samangan and laying eggs.

Locust protection campaigns were held in the Aibank city, Hazrat Sultan and Dara-e-Sawf districts of Kunduz province and concluded last week.

Nearly 40,000 hectares of farms had been protected from locusts as a result of the campaign, launched by 10 professional staff of the department and along with 500 volunteers from the different areas of the province, according to Gulabuddin Ghyasi, plant protection manager of agriculture department.

Despite recent anti-locust campaigns, farmers still fear locust swarms may destroy their crops next year.

Locusts are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They form bands as swarms as adults which can travel great distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops.