THE current locust invasion is a gigantic challenge that the government is facing at a time when the country is already suffering because of the pandemic. Considering the sensitivity of this issue, the government has wisely set up a National Locust Control Centre to combat the plague which has destroyed Rabi and Kharif crops and orchards on vast tracts of lands in about 38 per cent area of the country with a severe locust attack in 60 out of 135 districts.

In the present scenario of sporadic rains throughout the country, the issue of locusts is expected to aggravate during the ensuing months. However, the main tool being used to combat the locust swarms is the widespread use of chemical pesticides. The frequent and injudicious use of synthetic insecticides has adverse effects not only on the health of livestock and the human population of the targeted areas but it also considerably affects the environment and biodiversity to a varying extent. Moreover, at a later stage, this may result in the development of marked insecticide resistance in locust populations against these chemical insecticides.

Pesticides are known to cause a carcinogenic effect on human health. Recently, a report published in Discover magazine indicated that a well-reputed multinational agrochemical company agreed to pay about $10 billion to settle legal claims over the ill-effects of glyphosate, an active ingredient of their commercial herbicide formulation.

The frequent and injudicious use of synthetic insecticides has adverse effects not only on the health of livestock and the human population of the targeted areas but it also considerably affects the environment and biodiversity

Specifically, $1.25bn will go toward independent research whether glyphosate causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma type of cancer. Moreover, some persistent pesticides have long residual effects on non-target organisms. Some pesticides, even after decades of their application, remained in the soil thus continuously destroying the lives of those exposed to it and having long-term effects on the health of human population generation after generation.

In view of the residual effects of the pesticides, we should be very much careful with the frequent application of synthetic insecticides in locust-infested areas.

It is pertinent to mention here that climate change is contemplated as the major reason for the upsurge of locust swarms in the region. Many studies suggest that climate change, particularly erratic rains, has provided conducive environmental conditions for increased fecundity of the desert locust wherein the pest population can increase 20-fold every three months.

The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) has established a Locust Research and Development Cell at the Department of Entomology with the mission to strengthen research, development and outreach activities, and coordinate with national and regional locust control organisations for devising preventive and curative control operations/strategies.

The UAF-Locust Cell is working on multiple fields of research. These include locust biology, ecology, behaviour, toxicology, pesticide resistance management, and development and evaluation of phytochemical-based biopesticides in integration with other biological control approaches for eco-friendly sustainable management, thereby replacing the hazardous chemical pesticides for controlling the locust at the initial nymphal stage of its lifecycle.

In addition to developing biopesticides, the UAF has already manufactured a three-in-one spray machine that has been tested by farmers of the locust-hit areas where the pest invaded at a very large scale.

There is no doubt that universities are considered the powerhouse of generating new knowledge. Fundamental research carried out in universities could also be beneficial for other organisations involved in controlling locusts. Amid the bemoaning situation when universities are facing a huge financial crunch, there is a dire need to not only provide substantial funds for conducting research but also that funding should be made a regular feature of government priority areas for carrying out research activities.

However, to control the pest, the strategy in vogue is the use of chemical pesticides on a large scale, which may prove to be highly hazardous to the environment, biodiversity, water quality, livestock, and human population. It is ironic that no organisation has yet conducted any research to explore the hazardous effects of chemical pesticides on the earlier-mentioned entities.

On the government side, while devising an effective policy for controlling locusts, the putative short- and long-term hazardous effects of widespread chemical pesticide use ought to be kept in mind.

The writer is the vice-chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, July 20th, 2020