Desert Locust Control High Level Meeting held

On February 25, 2020, the Agriculture Ministry held a high-level meeting on Desert Locust Control. The meeting was chaired by Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare.

Highlights

The meeting discussed the locust control operations carried on between May 2019 and February 2020. The report submitted by National Disaster Response Force was discussed at the meet. The report was submitted by an inter-ministerial team that visited the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat to assess crop losses.

At the end of the meeting, the officials were directed to conduct training and awareness programmes to tackle locusts in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab.

Locusts in India

There are 10 important locust species on the earth that cause major damages. Out of these, only 4 are found in India. They are Desert Locust, Bombay Locust, Migratory Locust and Tree Locust.

Locust are grass hoppers that are capable forming swarms and cause great damage to cultivated vegetation.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020