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Red Locust infestation to pose major threat to winter crops – official

Red Locust infestation to pose major threat to winter crops – official

The Ministry of Agriculture this week announced that swarms of Red Locusts were detected in the Otjozondjupa region notably in Mururani and Grootfontein areas.

The Executive Director Percy Misika said, as a result the ministry is deploying a team of plant health and extension officials to assess the situation and start spraying in the affected areas.

“We will continue assessing the situation to advance the required interventions to curb the further spread of the locusts,” he said, urging farmers in the region to report any detected presence of Red Locusts in their areas to their nearest Agricultural Development Centre.

Misika said although the summer cropping season has come to an end, the pest poses a serious threat to winter crops such as wheat and barley as well as livestock grazing areas.

Meanwhile, Misika said Namibia has been battling Red Locusts in the country since February when they were detected in the Zambezi region.

“Since then the ministry deployed spraying teams to the region to fight the spread of the locusts to minimize damage to crops and grazing areas,” he said.

According to Misika, unfortunately due to the flying nature of locusts, many new swarms coming from neighboring countries have managed to enter Namibia


 

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