Locust control costs $15.8 million for Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has allocated over $15.8 million for locust control, Tengrinews reports citing the press office of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The quarantine services of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture discussed cooperation in combating locust with their counterparts from Russia.

“$15.8 million were allocated from the state budget to conduct preventative measure against locust. Out of which, $2.8 million were allocated to purchasing pesticides, and the remaining $13 million is to pay for the chemical treatment services,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry uses 18 airplanes, 43 ultra light aviation aerial vehicles, 43 aerosol generators and over other 200 spraying machines for the chemical treatment of land to protect it from locust. This year, locust is expected to affect over 4 million hectares of land. Over 2 million hectares are subject to chemical treatment. Most part of the treatment has been finished. Chemical treatment against Moroccan locust has been finished.

“In order to avoid migration of locusts to neighboring territories the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan pays special attention to the regions bordering Russia. The total length of the Aktobe-Orenburg Oblasts border is around 800 km, over 600 thousand hectares of border lands have been examined already. 263 hectares are subject to treatment against the pest,” the press office reported.

In Aktobe Oblast in Kazakhstan's west, during the summer and spring periods 2.1 hectares of land were infected by Calliptamus italicus (short-horned grasshopper). Over 1 million hectares of land in the region was examined. As a result, 406 thousand hectares are subject to chemical treatment.

By Gyuzel Kamalova