New equipment to tackle scourge of locusts in Tajikistan

Locust infestations are severely threatening Tajikistan’s agriculture, so a wide-ranging effort led by FAO has now delivered tyres for various vehicles used in locust operations, as well electronic gadgets, to support locust management in the country.

Using FAO’s own resources through a Technical Cooperation Programme, the emergency preparedness and response project aims to secure the livelihoods, feed, and food security of communities living in infested areas in Tajikistan – which entails improved locust control through deployment of modern equipment, effective techniques, and other proven solutions to control locusts.

Locust outbreaks and upsurges, particularly in Khatlon and Sughd provinces, and Districts of Republican Subordination, are very destructive because locusts attack pastures and a large range of crops. The livelihoods and food security of farmers in these regions, as well as in neighbouring areas, suffer greatly from crop and pasture damage caused by locust swarms.

The tyres will be used on tractors, all-terrain vehicles with sprayers, and motorbikes, by the state entity ‘Locust Control Expedition’ under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Earlier, in the framework of the same project, locust and agriculture specialists in the locust-affected areas participated in training and workshops on locust monitoring and response. Appropriate locust monitoring entails improved early warning and response mechanisms for locust outbreaks, as well as establishing proper and timely control operations, leading ultimately to better protection of crops and pastures.

“Locust populations still remain in the affected districts, especially in remote, hard-to-reach areas where surveillance or control operations are difficult,” said Oleg Guchgeldiyev, FAO Representative in Tajikistan. “It is crucial to maintain and increase control efforts using ground survey and control teams, as well as reporting, that enables data to be recorded and transmitted to the national locust centre. The project is aimed at ensuring the capacity of the responsible agency for monitoring, early warning and timely response. As locust outbreaks will continue to threaten the country’s agricultural sector and rural livelihoods, support should continue as well.”

Further assistance to the ‘Locust Control Expedition’ in the form of technical knowledge and skills, as well as equipment to control locust infestations, is being delivered by a regional FAO project strengthening regional coordination and efforts against locusts. It is being implemented in six central Asian countries with financial support from the Japanese government.

Tajikistan’s goal with its preventive locust-control strategy is to reduce the number of infested and treated hectares, to reduce the negative impacts of control operations on human health and the environment, and to protect the food security and livelihoods of highly vulnerable rural communities.

9 July 2021, Dushanbe, Tajikistan