03 Mar 2020

The Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security’s efforts to control the spread of the African Migratory Locust that invaded Gumare farmers recently are ongoing.

Speaking in an interview, the ministry’s public relations officer in the North West region, Mr Clifford Molefe said the outbreak was first reported on February 9, while control through the use of chemical spray started on February 15, after days of mobilising resources.

He said so far reported cases of invaded fields were around 20 while the spraying had been done in more than 10 fields and the method was bearing fruits.

Mr Molefe however advised farmers to weed their fields as it had been realised that the density of the locust was high in fields with too much weeds as compared to those without weeds.

He also noted that though the ministry was tasked with controlling the terriorising pest, they also had the responsibility of protecting the environment, hence the use of a minimal allowed dose of chemical when spraying the fields.

“Even though we use a less concentrated concoction, it is still effective because after spraying we see the pests lying dead on the ground,” said Mr Molefe.

The public relations officer however said they were some hindrances in the efforts to control the spread of the African Migratory Locust such as the presence of a broad-leafed weed in fields called amaranthes.

He said during spraying, some pests would hide under the big leaves hence could not be reached by the chemical.

Another challenge, Mr Molefe said was that when they sprayed the crops, the locust would have already laid eggs under the ground and would hatch days later into hoppers, hence it would appear as if the chemical was not effective.

He therefore said they did regular spraying at some of the invaded fields to kill the hoppers before they became adults.

Furthermore, Mr Molefe said the spraying team had adopted an effective method of spraying in the early hours of the morning as at that time the adult locusts would be asleep compared to during the day when it would be a challenge to spray because the pests fly away.

Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Ms Kehitile Kate said her field so far had been sprayed with the chemical three times at intervals but the pests continued to be noticeable at the farm, though some died.

“I am afraid I am going to lose all my maize crops, I just hope these people will come back soon again to spray my field,” she said.

Another farmer, Mr Babui Batshabeng, whose field was yet to be sprayed with the chemical said the locust density in his farm was increasingly growing, though the damage caused to crops was still minimal.

He therefore wished the spraying team could reach his farm before the destruction was severe.

The 50-year-old farmer said since he was born, he was seeing the African Migratory Locust for the first time.

“We are experiencing crop damage caused by such pests for the first time. We only used to be told about its ravaging by our parents when we were young,” he said. Ends