Locust infestation in Afghanistan

Thousands of hectares of land in Kandali village in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan have been infested with locusts. While the villagers had a hard time due to locusts that damaged many agricultural products, they complained that they could not receive any support from the state to protect their crops.

Villagers are trying to catch Moroccan locusts, one of the most dangerous locust species, using traditional methods due to the lack of modern methods, Ihlas News reported.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Program Office said the locusts lay billions of eggs after eating everything they can, causing the cycle of destroying farmers' crops to continue next year.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Program Office said the locust infestation could destroy 1.2 million tons of wheat, equivalent to a quarter of this year's crop in Afghanistan.

"Last month we said that despite three consecutive years of drought in Afghanistan, better and more crops were expected from farmland this year, but now it seems that this new pest is destroying hopes for a better crop," said Richard Tranchard, Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program Office in Afghanistan, in a statement.

Source: Ihlas News Agency