Desert locust invasion in Rajasthan from Pak border areas; no damage to crops yet: Centre

There has been an incursion of desert locust, a kind of grasshopper, since May 21 this year in Rajasthan and Gujarat from Pakistan border areas but no evidence of crop damage is seen till date, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Tuesday.

Its presence has been noticed mainly in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan, while Banaskantha district in Gujarat, he said.

"Till date, there is no evidence of crop damages by desert locust. Neither the desert locust control teams nor any state agriculture functionaries have reported any damage to the crops," Tomar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Highlighting steps taken to deal with the problem, the minister said a total of 8,041 hectares have been treated against the said infestation by spraying insecticides up to July 3, 2019.

The staff of locust warning organisation/ circle offices are undertaking regular surveys and control operations to check desert locust.

An additional 40 technical officers of Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage have been deployed in various circle offices for assistance in control and survey works.

Besides, senior officers from the Union Agriculture Ministry are camping in the infested areas and supervising control operations, he said.

Tomar further said the Rajasthan government has constituted various teams comprising senior officers for regular assessment and monitoring of locust situation.

Awareness programmes have been organised by various circle offices for state agriculture officers and farmers, he added.