Agriculture
Agriculture department ups its game to get rid of locusts─── ELSABÉ RICHARD 05:00 Thu, 06 Oct 2022
The Department of Agriculture in the Northern Cape says it has upped its game in combating locust swarms in the province.
This comes as brown locusts have been reported in towns such as Upington and Carnarvon.
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Other towns where the locusts have been reported are Kliprand, Gamoep and Louriesfontein.
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The department’s spokesperson, Zandisile Luphahla, says the outbreak is a result of warmer conditions and moisture in the soil after recent rains in some parts of the Northern Cape. He warns that more outbreaks are expected in other districts in the province, as the weather becomes warmer and rain is expected.
In order to ensure that it combats the outbreak from the get-go, the department has, with assistance from the national Department of Agriculture, activated and dispatched teams of locust controllers to control the locust outbreak in affected areas and nearby farms.
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With that, the department has also started training additional locust controllers in and around the affected areas and has before the start of winter begun procuring chemicals.
Meanwhile, MEC Mase Manopole calls on land owners and farmers to cooperate with locust-controlling teams by allowing them access to their premises in order to ensure smooth control of the swarms.
She further urged motorists to be cautious as roads become slippery as a result of hoppers moving from nearby farms onto main roads.
Challenges experienced
According to Luphahla, some of the main challenges that the department faced during the previous locust outbreaks were the lack of chemicals to spray the swarms, the breaking of equipment, and the non-payment of locust controllers.
ALSO READ: Rain affects combatting of locusts in NC
He explained that the issue of non-payment was not deliberate as there were problems with bank account numbers and identity documents.
The department held a workshop with its stakeholders during the winter in a bid to establish a plan on how to deal with the aforementioned challenges.
The public has been called upon to report any swarms in their areas to the following departmental officials: Ms Mulalo Matodzi on 083-326-7773, Ms Vuyokazi Mpumlwana on 084-760-8176 and Dr Ikalafeng Kgakatsi on 072-198-9882.
