EGYPT: Precautionary measures to be taken against locust invasion

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CAIRO, 29 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Egypt has decided to take precautionary measures against any possible attack by swarms of locusts, said an official from the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.

The decision was taken in a meeting of a consultative anti-locust committee headed by Minister of Agriculture Ahmed al-Leithi on Thursday.

"However, there is no threat of an attack," emphasized Mohammed Abdel Rahman, General Director of the General Department for locusts in the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.

This was confirmed by Munir Boutros, secretary of the commission for controlling the desert locusts in the central region (CRC), a department affiliated to the Food and Agricultural organization (FAO).

According to Abdel Rahman, these steps are taken annually at around this time when locusts usually migrate across the region.

"Such measures include having monitoring teams on Egyptian borders around the country. We also have 13 main bases that have branches surrounding the country and they are well equipped with pesticide equipment to prevent any attack," he explained.

In November last year, Egypt was attacked by a swarm of red desert locusts that reached Alexandria and the Delta area.

"This was caused by a sudden change of wind that carried the locusts from the western region to Egypt," Boutros explained.

However, he emphasized that the locusts that invaded Egypt last year did not cause any harm.

"These locusts were full and were not looking for food. They were looking for their habitat in order to breed and the Delta area and the North Coast are not locust habitats," he said.

The central region contains five countries that serve as locust habitats, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan and Eritrea.

"Locusts need yellow soil that has a certain amount of humidity and vegetation for the youngsters to feed on, in order to mature and breed," Boutros said, adding that this kind of atmosphere is available around the Red Sea.

According to Abdel Rahman, their habitat is in the triangular area on the Red Sea at the borders between Egypt and Sudan.

"But we do not have any locust activity at the current moment as we have been combating them since October 2003 and just ended our campaign in June this year," he said.

The reasons why locusts come together and migrate in huge numbers are not known.

"We don’t necessarily have to have an outbreak every year. Such outbreaks come in waves and no one knows what is behind those waves," Boutros said.

Desert locusts, he said, are usually in a solitary phase, which means that they gather in very small numbers. However, when they excrete a pheromone known as the gregarization pheromone, they start gathering together and forming swarms.

[ENDS]