With swarm of locusts damaging crops in some States, the Agriculture department officials because alert and are thinking on how to protect crops from the insects.
The Agriculture, Horticulture and other departments officers were discussing about the issue with scientists and experts.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Special Commissioner (Agriculture) H. Arun Kumar said there were no incidents of locusts damaging crops in the State in the last few decades.
However, as the problem was more in some neighborjng States and the swarm of locusts were attacking the crops in one after the other States, government is focussing on the issue he said.
“We represented the matter to Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University (ANGRAU), agriculture scientists and experts in different crops and asked them to suggest methods to prevent crop loss, if the swarm of locusts enters in to AP,” Mr. Arun Kumar said.
“Farmers cultivate paddy, maize, jowar, bengal gram, black gram, groundnut and horticulture crops in the State. But, there were no incidents of locusts damaging the crops in our State,” said Sk. Hussain, a farmer from Vanukuru in Krishna district. If locusts enter into Telangana or Tamil Nadu, we have to be more alert an take damage control steps in the fields, he added
“Already farmers suffered huge losses due to COVID-19 and now the news on locusts attacking crops is creating panic among the ryots. We request the government to take preventive measures if any, to control crop damage,” said another farmer Sabba Nageswara Rao of Vuyyuru.
