Locust Attack
Contributors:
Alishba Jamil (001)
Rabbia Ramzan (032)
Kainat Ahmad (016)
Ayesha Bashir (057)
Tahira Bibi (087)
Introduction and
History
Presented By:
Alishba Jamil
2018-BCS-001
Introduction
• Many species, floods, torrential rains, earthquakes and other
events have in the past destroyed several crops . The destruction
caused by the locust attack is not new as well.
• Locust is among the species that proliferate rapidly. This insect
has posed a threat to many countries.
What is a locust?
• The locusts are large insects and a type of grasshopper.
• There are several species of grasshoppers but only a few are
locust.
• Locusts exist in different behavioral states that are solitary and
gregarious while grasshoppers do not exist in such states.
Swarming of locusts
• The swarms of several species of locust can migrate over
distances and this gregarious behavior are the outstanding
characteristics that distinguish typical locusts from other
grasshoppers.
History of Locust Attacks in Pakistan
• The swarm enterned Pakistan towards the end of 2019.
• Before the creation of Pakistan in 1947, this region had confronted
a major locust attack in 1926.
• Another major outbreak took an ugly shape in 1952.
Case Studies
(Causes and Effects)
Presented By:
Rabbia Ramzan
2018-BCS-032
Climate conditions as
drivers
1. “Rain is an enabler for desert locust
reproduction. Given the right conditions, a
locust population can increase 20-fold every
three months,” the FAO’s senior locust
forecaster Keith Cressman wrote.
2. “In the past three years there was an increase
in the frequency of cyclones in the Indian
Ocean that played a role in breeding this
current upsurge,” Cressman added.
3. “Climate Change alter the dynamics of pest
spread and reproduction. So, while desert
locusts are an age-old threat, we fear A locust swarm in Eastern Pakistan
something is changing” the FAO’s senior
locust forecaster Keith Cressman wrote.
Cross-border swarms
foraging for food
• “The swarms of desert locust, which moved to
summer breeding areas along both sides of the
India-Pakistan border, re-entered Pakistan via
Rajasthan and concentrate in Punjab and Sindh
during the upcoming monsoon rains” Minister
for National Food Security and Research Syed
Fakhr Imam on 4 Jul 2020.
• The locusts were restricted to the Cholistan
desert in Punjab or Thar in Sindh in the summer
seasons. But last year, they migrated to other
cultivated areas of Sindh and Punjab as well as
the northern regions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province, which had never heard of this pest Hordes of locusts have darkened the skies in
before. They have developed new routes and Sindh [image by: Manoj Genani]
have even entered Afghanistan.
Blow to food supply
and great damage to
Economy
• Locusts destroyed several crops and ate
anything and everything from seeds to
flowers with an amazing speed of 93.2
miles per day.
• The pest damage cut Pakistan’s economic
growth to less than 2% in the fiscal year
ending in June 2020.
• At a 25% level of damage, the FAO
estimates total losses of about PKR 353
billion for the rabi crops, and about PKR Photo taken on March 1, 2020, shows desert
464 billion for kharif (summer-sown) crops. locusts in Khushab. — Liu Tian/Xinhua/Alamy
Live News
Continued
• In Sindh, locusts have damaged wheat, oil
seeds, pulses and vegetables in an area of
more than 166,701 hectares or 13.8% of
the province’s total cropping area.
• The nation’s new cotton crop is seen as the
most vulnerable to the pest attack —the
damage further worsened the outlook for
an economy forecast to shrink for the first
time in 73 years.
• “We need pesticides too,” Meghwal
(shepherd) said. “Locusts eat up all the
Saadullah Zehri, a farmer who lost his crops
grass and leaves on which our sheep and to locusts. | Photographer: Asim Hafeez |
goats depend. Everyone talks about what Bloomberg
locusts do to farmers. They hit us just as
hard.”
Facts and Control over
Locust Attack
Presented By:
Kainat Ahmad
2018-BCS-016
Interesting facts about locusts:
1. Plagues of locusts are also mentioned in the Quran.
2. During the course of one or two successive generations they
actually change in shape and color.
3. Locusts are found on all continents except Antarctica and North
America.
4. In the world and especially in Asia locusts are cooked in many
ways including fried, smoked, or dried
Control:
• Cultural control
• Mechanical control
The Technique of Spraying
1. High Volume Spray
2. Low volume Spray
3. Ultra-low Volume Spray
Important Consideration During Spray
• Do not spray during the hottest part of the day.
• Do not spray at low wind speeds less than 1m/s.
• Do not spray at high wind speeds more than 10m/s.
Preventive Measures in
Pakistan
Presented By:
Ayesha Bashir
2018-BCS-057
Preventive Measures taken by Government
• National emergency by Imran Khan declared.
• National Action Plan for Surveillance and Control of Desert Locust in
Pakistan.
• Measures of Department of Plant Protection (DPP).
• Funding by Sindh Government for pesticides and spraying vehicles.
• Government using aircraft for crop dusting.
Preventive Measures with
help of China
• Support from the FAO
• Chinese experts visited
Pakistan
Chinese expert Zhang Long searches for eggs of
locusts in Khushab, Punjab province.
Preventive Measures
with help of FAO
• FAO has provided support to the
locust surveillance
• FAO instrumental help.
• FAO director general Qu Dongyu
signed the ‘Technical Cooperation
Programme
• Second agreement was signed by
the FAO chief with Minister for
Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam
Preventive Measures with
help of (CWSA)
• Community World Service Asia
(CWSA) financially supporting victim
families.
• Around 1,600 hectares of land will
be rid of locust eggs
• CWSA is also supporting the
National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA).
Solutions and
Conclusion
Presented By:
Tahira Bibi
2018-BCS-87
Solutions as a CS student
PUBLIC AWARENESS, COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING
• The control of the Desert Locust cannot be won without the
involvement of local communities in the campaigns. Training,
sensitization and communication are essential elements in this.
• Within the framework of the information and awareness
campaigns, multiple and diverse means have been used,
including radio and television, as the press and print notices,
fliers, brochures and posters.
Continued
• With the collaboration of environmental
science students, we can make a
detector which can check for locust eggs
at places like holes and dumps. This will
help in controlling the increase in Locust
swarms by spraying those areas.
• Using the concepts of Digital Logic
Design and Artificial Intelligence
course.
Conclusion
• Locusts normally arrive during July-October.
• The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest
in the world as it is highly mobile and feeds on large quantities of
any kind of green vegetation, including crops, pasture, and fodder.
• The adverse economic significance of locusts is evident from their
impacts on livelihoods, food security and nutrition, economic
development and on the environment.
Continued
• Climate change is a crucial driver of the current locust plague.
Locust swarms are wreaking havoc on crops and pastureland,
destroying food and vegetation and adversely affecting food
security and livelihoods for millions of people.
• The impacts on economy, human, and environment are
substantial. When basic needs such as food and shelter, nutrition,
health care and education are not met it affects households and
families hindering long-term health and development, especially of
children.
Continued
• Chemicals, pesticides, drones and aircrafts do not provide any
permanent solution. It is crucial to address the root cause of global
warming and invest in upgrading climate resilience and adaptation
techniques.
• This is an expensive and complex process, which will require
global cooperation and coordination. But it has to be done. Else, as
these destructive pests have demonstrated, the costs will be
staggering and recurring.
References
• https://
[Link]/ag/locusts/common/ecg/1913/en/[Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]
ert-Locust-
Infestation..pdf
• https://
[Link]/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/35058/[Link]?sequence=3
• [Link]
• https
://[Link]/en/regional-cooperation/locust-food-security-pakistan/?
gclid=Cj0KCQiA7oyNBhDiARIsADtGRZa8CvYG7XbZ0JsG518WlPXKD_Vu0p_
7KmY3TMF570DkJpY3n-C3TGYaArUPEALw_wcB
References
• https://
[Link]/news/international/world-news/pakistans-locust-
plague-becomes-as-big-as-coronavirus/but-the-threat-is-not-over/slideshow/747
[Link]
• https://
[Link]/stable/pdf/10.13169/[Link]?refreqid=excelsior%3
A782b2ca32668754d83a6c50d06a1d2fe
• [Link]
ronavirus/438233
/
• [Link]
• [Link]
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• [Link]
References
• [Link]
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p_7KmY3TMF570DkJpY3n-C3TGYaArUPEALw_wcB
• [Link]
ronavirus/438233/
• [Link]
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• [Link]
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