Pakistan PM Imran Khan decides to battle locusts by turning them into chicken feed

Amid the rising locust threat in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday backed an idea for dealing with the locust threat in the country under which the government would provide financial incentives to the people for catching locusts and then selling these insects to poultry farmers who could use them as poultry feed. The Pakistani prime minister endorsed the proposal while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet.

A participant of the meeting, told Dawn that during the meeting PM Khan was also apprised that the plan of catching and selling locusts for PKR 15 per kg was implemented in Okara. PM Khan welcomed the idea and said that it should be implemented across the country after consent of provinces.

Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz confirmed the development and said, "In fact, the prime minister wanted to turn the crisis into an opportunity, therefore, he approved a plan of catching and selling locusts."

He added that ministers Fakhar Imam, Hammad Azhar and Khusro Bakhtiar were directed by PM Khan to find out the way to give financial incentives for catching locusts.

During the cabinet meeting, the prime minister was given a detailed briefing on present situation of locust swarms, including information about the worst-hit parts of the country.

In Okara, for a reward of PKR 20 per kilogram of locusts, locals worked all night to collect them and a farmer's family managed to earn PKR 1,600 during a single locust-gathering outing.

According to PTV, swarm of locusts have attacked 31 districts in Baluchistan, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four in Punjab and seven in Sindh, causing immense damage to crops in these areas.

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan could suffer about US$5 billion in losses due to locusts attack and a reduced harvest could increase inflation in the country.

It is to be noted that about 20 per cent of the population in Pakistan are already undernourished, with around 50% of all children under five stunted.