The southern Libyan regions are still witnessing a wide spread of the Sahrawi locusts, which caused the destruction of agricultural crops and the vegetation damage, and threatens an environmental disaster if it is not taken quick measures to enhance its control.
The spokesman for the National Locust Control Committee, Hussein Al -Braiki, had said that the Sahrawi locust swarms spread in the southern region very widely, and they are in the intermarriage and laying eggs.
Al -Braiki confirmed in statements to local media, that an environmental catastrophe may take place if there are no rapid measures in the face of the great shortage of locust pesticides, machines and spray cars, and he also appealed to the government and officials to provide deficiencies to confront and limit its spread, and warned of the great risks that the desert locusts cause if they are not confronted and eliminated at the earliest time.
For its part, the Libyan Center for Desert Research and Sahrawi Development confirmed that farms in the southern regions are facing great challenges due to the spread of desert locusts, which constitutes a serious threat to agricultural crops and pastures.
The center pointed out -according to a statement on its Facebook page -that the southern regions suffer from a severe shortage of the capabilities and equipment needed to combat this scourge, as relying on limited means, such as cars and small spraying tanks, are not sufficient to deal with the huge numbers of locusts.
Experts suggest that the Sahrawi locust invading the southern Libyan regions is due to the strong wave of rain and floods that the desert areas have known during the last period and the entry of new swarms coming from northern Sudan and Chad, in addition to the presence of this scourge in the neighboring Niger.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), desert locusts are the most dangerous pests that threaten agricultural production and food security, and its risk is to multiply in various environmental and climatic conditions.
One square kilometer of desert locust swarmers can contain up to 80 million of adult locusts, and in one day it can consume an amount of food equal to what is consumed by 35 thousand people.
