Successful locust control operations in Eritrea will come to an end this month
The Minister of Agriculture Mr. Arefaine Berhe made a three-day visit from 22-24 February 2019 to current desert locust (DL) control sites in the sub-zones of She’eb, Afabet and Karora.
Mr. Tesfit Gebrezgabhier, Head of crop production in Northern Red-sea region briefed the Minister and his team about the strategies they have been using to minimize DL infestation to its lowest level.
Mr. Tesfit told the visiting team that the control operations kicked off in the late November 2018 in Karora sub-zone and is still continuing. He underscored the pro-active actions taken by the Ministry of agriculture that included vast surveillance and monitoring activities as major sources of the success to reduce sharply the DL outbreaks in the region. He further mentioned that six ground control teams were established in Karura, Ghirat, Gulbub, She’eb, Emberemi and Foro.
According to Mr. Tesfit, these control teams have so far treated nearly 28,000 hectares of land and shortly they will put the outbreak under full control. He confirmed also that they have not let any desert locust fly anywhere.
Minister Arefaine during his visit applauded the diligence of desert locust control ground teams for their incredible work. He said “thanks to your dedicated hard work, our crops are safe. You did not only save Eritrea but all the countries in our region and beyond. Finally he reminded them to stay tuned for any DL incidences that could come from neighboring countries.
Farmers of Karora sub zone took the opportunity to thank the Ministry of agriculture and all government bodies that took part in the control operations which enabled them to harvest their crops without any loss due to desert locust.
- Eritrea Delegation in Jordan
Mr. Heruy Asghedom, Director General of Agricultural Extension Department participated in the 31st Session and 35th executive committee meeting of the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region (CRC) that was held in Amman, Jordan, from 17-21 February, 2019.
In the paper he presented, Mr. Heruy outlined that the country experiences desert locust incidences almost every year with different magnitudes of infestation. He mentioned the efforts exerted by the government of state of Eritrea and partners like CRC and FAO to minimize the damage caused by the pest.
Furthermore, Mr. Heruy, assisted by a 30-minute video show, outlined the current desert locust situation and operations that started from the last days of November 2018.
He presented a country report that focused on logistical preparations done, number of DL control personnel, training conducted, contingency plan prepared etc. He also stressed the commitment of high level government bodies in supporting the desert locust control campaigns.
Finally Mr. Heruy mentioned, implementation of national action plan, training courses on environmental health standards (EHS), implementation of EHS and Green muscle (biological control of desert locust) demonstration in the country, evaluating the impact of controlling operations and awareness of the public on EHS among major plans of the year 2019/2020.
Source: MoA Newsletter March 2019