5 July 2020, NIICE Commentary 5507
Bhavna Singh
In addition to the recurring COVID-19 waves, the Locusts Swarms that destroyed crop yields around several countries have surfaced as a non-traditional threat that governments around the world have to deal with. As of now, three Locust Swarms are active in Delhi-NCR including Gurugram, Rewari, Jhajjar, Faridabad and Palwal in Haryana and in the surrounding states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, and Maharashtra of India. On the one hand, while the Modi government is trying to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and limit its impact on the economy, on the other hand, it is challenged by the risk of food crops getting destroyed as millions of people are pushed into poverty after losing livelihood and movement.
By precedent, locust damage has dented food availability in India at four occasions: during the plague cycles in 1926-31, 1940-46, 1949-55, and 1959-62. Experts blame the growing menace of desert locusts on climate change as breeding of locusts are directly related to soil moisture and food availability. Broadly four species of locusts are found in India – desert locust, migratory locust, Bombay locust, and tree locust. The desert locust is considered the most destructive since it multiplies rapidly and is capable of covering 150 kilometers in a day according to the Jodhpur-based Locust Warning Organisation (LWO). One square kilometer of locust swarm containing around 40 million locusts, can eat as much food as 35,000 people in a day according to UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Therefore, the state has intensified preparation to control the population of locusts that are hovering in the desert areas between India and neighbouring Pakistan which is now a breeding ground for the pests.
Pakistan had suffered its worst attack since 1993 devouring cotton, maize, and wheat which persisted due to global warming. Abnormally heavy rains last year seen as culminating in the Kerala floods, which scientists say were made more likely by the long-term warming of the Indian Ocean, a hallmark of climate change, have exacerbated a locust infection across eastern Africa as well. In February, the outbreak ravaged crop and pasture in the Greater Horn of Africa; damaging tens and thousands of hectares of cropland and pasture in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia; the worst in over 25 years. The problem is compounded by the fact that larger swarms that bred in Horn of Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, due to abnormal weather activities caused by two cyclones in 2018, are also likely to move towards India soon.
Keeping these facts in mind, India has proposed a coordinated approach to Pakistan, Iran and the African nations. The locust warning organisation has ordered drones for sprinkling chemicals in order to kill the locust which earlier used to be done by brigade bus, tractors and gipsies. The World Bank, for its part, has approved USD 500 million in grants and low-interest loans to help countries in Africa and the Middle East. Four worst hit-countries will receive USD 160 million immediately. Despite immediate measures, the World Bank has estimated a loss of USD 8.5 billion in damage to crop and livestock if the spread of the locusts is not stopped.
To avoid famine and poverty, the Indian government has to find immediate remedies for the loss incurred due to locust attacks. If they continue unabated, millions of tons of food grains and vegetables meant for human consumption will be wiped out leading to further shortage of food and other essential supplies for human beings. The Indian economy is already on an edge due to the economic devastation caused by the pandemic and an agrarian crisis due to the locust attack will only exacerbate the economic situation as more relief plans will have to be doled out.
The right approach in the current scenario would be to bring in all technological support to assist in firstly dispersing the insecticides, getting the farmers self-ready to handle the situation, borrow assistance form the World Bank or other such relevant bodies to improve the situation of the farmers. Secondly, using all technological know-how from the metrological departments to check the severity of the cyclone and its impact on the direction and movement of these locust swarms and prepare accordingly. It is but interesting to see how the drone usage that is actually modelled on a swarm movement is now being applied to curtail the spread of these locusts. It once again calls for a rethink on the advantages and disadvantages of technological progress where humans try to copy an insect model into their technology and are still unable to benefit fully from it. Since the spread of such a non-traditional threat is a direct consequence of climate change, it is imperative that the government also take necessary action to bring climate change under control by various means like controlled use of artificial rain, day-to-day regulation of agricultural and industrial waste etc. Only then can food security on a large scale be achieved.
