Local councils and district managers prevent locust control [Archives:2007/1077/Local News]
SANA'A, Aug. 15 ) Director-General of Yemen's Desert Locust Control Center Abdu Fara Al-Romaih complained that some directors of local councils as well as district managers in Hadhramaut and Shabow resisted locust control teams sent to exterminate infected areas.
Such resistance is due to bee husbandry farms in these districts, which might be affected by pesticides. Locust control teams face many difficulties during their work. “We give these areas three days to move away the bees to safe places otherwise the teams will leave these areas without solving the problem of locusts,” Al-Romaih stressed, adding, “There are some people who refused to remove the bees and let the teams to do their work because of their personal interests.”
Daily reports are sent to the Ministry of Agriculture about the latest developments of the locust control teams, but the ministry's interaction with the teams is minimal. “We inform the Ministry of Agriculture about the problems we face with such local councils and some citizens and we only receive words without them doing anything for us,” Al-Romaih explained.
An intensive campaign will continue in Hadhramaut and Shabow on Thursday. There is an extermination scheduled for Al-Mahra governorate. “The number of locust flocks is bigger than the huge number that appeared in Yemen in 1993. But we plan to control the situation at the end of next month, September,” Al-Romaih stated.
In Sana'a, groups of locusts blanketed the sky over Al-Saba'een field, destroying its vegetation. However, Al-Romaih ensured that locusts spreading in Sana'a are coming from outside of Yemen and they are few in number, despite citizen calculations.
It is the nature of locusts to fly to different areas, especially during rainy weather which helps increase the amount of locusts. “The main reasons for the spread of the locust swarms in the governorates are the environmental conditions that were suitable for their spreading, and, also these locusts start from the desert and reach different areas of the governorates,” Al-Romaih noted.
Groups of locusts that have begun to appear on Sana'a have inspired hundreds of people to gather and watch these insects leap through the air, catching and bottling them.
Many citizens have started to collect the locusts everyday in big bottles and sell them in the main Yemeni markets, such as Bab Al-Yemen market. According to some citizens, the cost of the locusts has reached YR 1,500, more than the cost of meat. Some people believe that the meat of locusts is a medicine for many diseases, especially diabetes.
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