Farmers fight losing battle against locusts

Farmers fight losing battle against locusts

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

Locusts traveling in vast swarms have stripped 8,000 more
hectares of rice fields in Cirebon regency of all vegetation,
a senior government official says.

"Earlier, the locusts destroyed 1,700 hectares of rice fields
in four districts, now they have attacked 8,000 more hectares in
five other districts," said chief of the Cirebon administration's
Plant Disease Office Sunardi on Tuesday.

The Cirebon government has distributed for free 5,500 liters
of pesticide among farmers in the areas, but more pesticide is
needed, he said.

"We have spent some Rp 70 million on assisting the farmers,
and we can do nothing to help the rest as we are short of funds,"
said Sunardi.

The locusts have passed more areas as the weather has been bad
over the last few weeks, another official said.

"Strong winds and frequent rainfall have hampered efforts to
exterminate the locusts. The weather has surely helped the
locusts breed and move quickly to other areas," said Asyikin, the
chief of Cirebon Agriculture Office's climatology and irrigation
section.

Asyikin was optimistic, however, that the locust situation
would soon be under control as the weather would be milder in
early August. "Clear weather would make it easier for the farmers
to get rid of the locusts," said Asyikin.

As government officials are working on strategies to
exterminate the locusts, farmers bemoan the skyrocketing price of
pesticide. The price of Furudan (powder) pesticide has increased
in just a few weeks from Rp 15,000 per two kilograms to Rp
27,000.

Likewise Warsal (liquid) pesticide, which earlier cost Rp
20,000 per liter, has been priced at Rp 37,000 per liter since
the locust attacks.

"We can't do anything. The price of pesticide has been rising
and we do not have much money to buy it," said farmer Cholik, 27,
a resident of Susukan subdistrict whose one-and-a-half-hectare
rice field was attacked by locusts.