Desert Locust Invasion of Iran; “125 Trillion Tomans” of Agricultural Products Threatened

The Plant Protection Organization warned on Thursday, the 29th of Farvardin, that if the necessary budget for combating desert locusts is not provided within the next two weeks, the situation will spiral out of control, and this pest invasion, along with floods, will become a new crisis for Iran.

The organization has requested 12 billion tomans in budget to combat desert locusts, which the country’s crisis headquarters has approved 10 billion tomans for.

Previously, media reports indicated that this budget request was submitted last Bahman but has still not been approved by the Cabinet.

According to the IRNA news agency, desert locusts have entered Iran from Saudi Arabia through the provinces of Hormozgan, Fars, Kerman, Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Bushehr.

As reported by IRNA, the increasing invasion of desert locusts in Iran’s southern provinces prompted the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to change Iran’s status from yellow to orange, indicating the likelihood of significant damage to agricultural and horticultural products.

Previously, in the year 1340 (Persian solar calendar), desert locusts attacked Iran’s agricultural lands, damaging approximately two million and 500 thousand hectares of land.

The desert locust is one of the most dangerous species of locusts in terms of damaging agricultural products. Since these locusts typically fly over the Persian Gulf and reach Iran, they are also known among Iranians as the “sea locust.”

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned two weeks ago on its official website that desert locusts attacked an area of 80 thousand hectares on both sides of the Red Sea in March and, due to drought, migrated toward Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.

The report warned that soon a wave of locusts would also reach southern Iran.

These locusts, which have the ability to fly up to 200 kilometers daily, destroy all vegetation in their path and reproduce rapidly.

Desert locusts can even fly at altitudes of 100 to 1,000 meters over the Persian Gulf and cross it.

According to IRNA, citing Mohammad Reza Dorgahi, head of the country’s Plant Protection Organization, combat operations against desert locusts have been implemented on 40 thousand hectares of land in six southern provinces, but this is only a small portion of the work, and still 200 thousand hectares of agricultural land remain at risk.

He said if desert locusts are not controlled, they threaten food security: “So far, no serious damage has been done to agricultural lands, but the fight against this pest must be expanded because 125 trillion tomans is the rial value of products that are at risk.”

Some Iranian media have also warned of the possibility of “famine.”

On the other hand, the ISNA news agency reported, quoting Khosrow Omrani, deputy of the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Bushehr Province, that it is predicted that the second wave of migratory locusts entering the country will begin from the middle of Ordibehesht.

Contrary to Mr. Dorgahi’s statements about the possibility of eliminating the locust pest by the end of Tir, Mr. Omrani says that according to FAO’s announcement, in the most optimistic scenario, the locusts will be our guests for the next four years. Therefore, when we know we will be hosting these locusts for several years, we must plan well to combat them.

IRNA writes that a very large flying swarm of this type of locust can cover a thousand square kilometers and is capable of consuming 100 thousand tons of vegetation daily.

Source: Radio Farda