A state-run Turkish aid agency donated new technology to Pakistan to fight locust attacks in the country, Anadolu Agency reported.
The ULV vehicle-mounted and man-mounted machines along with pesticides were handed over by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency’s (TIKA) officials to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The handover ceremony was also attended by Federal Food Security and Research Minister Fakhar Imam, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa Yurdakul, and TIKA head in the capital Islamabad Gokhan Umut.
On the occasion, Imam thanked the government and the people of Turkey for their generosity.
“The government is working to modernize the agriculture sector in the country, and these machines will upgrade agricultural technology,” he said.
In a tweet, Yurdakul said: “Happy to be part of Pakistan’s efforts to fight locust swarms.”
Pakistan’s worst locust infestation in about 30 years started in June 2019, when the insects came over from Iran in a surge climate experts link to changing conditions conducive to the spread of the insects.
In July 2019, Pakistan suffered its worst attack of locusts since 1993, for which the country was largely unprepared. Swarms of locusts invaded agricultural fields in over 60 districts throughout Pakistan.
These insects, mainly originating from deserts, eat anything from bark to seeds and flowers while traveling up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) a day.
Farmers now have little confidence the government will help them fight a new wave of voracious insects threatening their harvests – though officials said extensive measures were being taken.
“Neither the central, nor the provincial government is doing anything about it,” said a farmer who grows vegetables, red chilies, cotton, and sugarcane on about 600 acres of land.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 38 percent of the country’s agriculture fields are breeding grounds for insects.
