The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that there is a brown locust outbreak in two of the Eastern Cape’s districts. The MEC for the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Nomakhosazana Meth, says the outbreak was confirmed by State Entomologists, according to Algoa FM.
The two affected districts are Chris Hani and Sarah Baartman District Municipality, including Cradock, Middelburg, Graaff-Reinet, Aberdeen, Nieu- Bethesda, Pearston, and Jansenville, affecting 127 farms. These towns are known for large crop farming.
The Eastern Cape is plagued by brown locusts.
The MEC said that farmers have already started spraying their land and are continuously trained to handle the situation in the form of a pest management programme to manage the swarms before they reach the flying stage, reports Dispatch Live.
The department added that should farmers experience a breakout on their farms, they have to immediately report it.
Nolitha Skenjana, the department’s entomologist, said the locusts are currently in stages one and two, which is a good time for spraying to occur.
The brown locust is a medium-sized locust species that is mostly found in Southern Africa and shows a gregarious behavior with phase polymorphism on crowding.
These species feed mainly on grass and cereal crops and lay non-diapause eggs in vast egg beds, which may hatch to cause major swarms.
Picture: Unsplash
