Locust invasion wrecks havoc in West Sumba

Locust invasion wrecks havoc in West Sumba

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Thousands of hectares of ripened corn in six districts in West
Sumba regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), have been destroyed by
swarms of locusts over the past few months.

The locusts first appeared at the end of last year and their
numbers have continued to increase.

At least 1,500 hectares of corn have been lost to the locust
plague in West Sumba regency, some 1,000 kilometers west of
Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province.

The local government has sprayed the fields with insecticides,
but this has done little to stop the invasion.

West Sumba regency Agriculture and Horticulture Office head
Obet Umbu Ngailu said the government was doing what it could to
stop the locusts and save the corn.

"The government has been trying to suppress the population of
the pests by spraying pesticides for several months. Hopefully,
this will have the desired outcome," he said.

He said the damage caused by the locusts had been categorized
as serious as thousands of hectares were at risk of being
destroyed.

Over the past three years, swarms of locust have destroyed
thousands of hectares of paddy and corn in East Nusa Tenggara.

In the current planting season, locusts have ravaged rice and
corn crops in West Sumba, Belu, northern Timor Tengah and
Manggarai regencies.

There has been no official announcement on material losses
caused by the pests.