IRIN
TAJIKISTAN: Drive to contain locust outbreak gains momentum
29 April 2008


DUBAI, 29 April 2008 (IRIN) - Tajikistan has been battling a locust invasion 
over the past few weeks, but officials say control measures and assistance from 
the donor community will allow them to combat the outbreak.

"This year the locust invasion started in many parts of the country one month 
earlier than usual. It started on 14 March in the south, in areas bordering 
Afghanistan - in 12 districts," Usarbek Mustafakulov, head of the laboratory 
unit at the Tajik Research Institute of Protection & Quarantine of Plants, told 
IRIN on 28 April from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Experts, including Mustafakulov, say it started early due to unusually warm 
spring weather.

"We've been using pesticides to clear areas affected by the current locust 
invasion since 18 March. Over 180,000 hectares have been assessed for the risk 
of locust infestation and, based on that, it is necessary to treat 152,000 
hectares," Mustafakulov said.

"In the south, the locusts are already reaching stage five of their development 
- when they start developing wings and can easily travel longer distances. So 
all our forces now are mobilised," he said.

The authorities have managed to clear 67,000 hectares of locusts using 
pesticides so far, but they do not have enough resources to contain the 
outbreak and clear infested areas, according to Mustafakulov.

The government has resources for about 100,000 hectares, but "for the remaining 
50,000 hectares there are no funds and therefore the authorities have appealed 
to donor organisations, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation 
(FAO), for assistance," he said.

CERF funding

To address the issue, John Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for 
humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, on 24 April allocated 
nearly half a million US dollars from the donor-funded Central Emergency 
Response Fund (CERF) to control the outbreak, the UN Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

"These funds are absolutely crucial to ensure that we can head this off before 
the infestation spreads any further. Combined with the harshest winter for 25 
years, increasing food prices and a drought that is now developing, a locust 
infestation of the size predicted would be more than government structures and 
household coping mechanisms could bear", said Gabriella Waaijman, OCHA's 
regional disaster response adviser for Central Asia.

Shukhrat Igamberdiev, FAO programme officer in Dushanbe, told IRIN they had 
received $410,163 - the amount FAO requested from the donor community to help 
the Tajik government contain the outbreak.

"This will enable the procurement of about 15,000 litres of pesticide, although 
the exact amount will depend on the prices the suppliers give us," he said.

The money will also cover special clothing and pesticide spraying equipment, 
staff training, the monitoring of the project and salaries for trainers, 
Igamberdiev said.

"The measures being taken and the assistance provided should be sufficient to 
stave off the locust invasion this year," Igamberdiev said.

The Ministry of Agriculture had allocated 4.5 million Tajik somonis (about 
US$1.3 million) for anti-locust measures this year, he said. "However, those 
funds were not sufficient because this year the area affected was double what 
it was last year," he explained.

"This happened because some areas remained untreated last year and some areas 
were treated with pesticides several times as there were recurrent locust 
invasions from Afghanistan," Igamberdiev said.

Regional project

At the same time, FAO is developing a regional project aimed at the 
sustainability of locust control efforts and programmes in Central Asia. "One 
of the main aims of the project is to improve cooperation among neighbouring 
countries - Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and other 
countries," Igamberdiev said.

"So the monitoring and control of locust invasions will improve and will be 
coordinated, which is one of the problems in the timely response and control of 
locust outbreaks," he said.

Locust control in Central Asia is also a regional issue, as infestations in 
Tajikistan come from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and locusts from 
Tajikistan infest these countries. The CERF allocation will help reduce the 
risk of further outbreaks by contributing to the procurement and delivery of 
pesticides, enabling surveys of the infested areas, and mobilising, training, 
and raising awareness among local communities, according to OCHA.

Prior to Tajikistan's independence in 1991, two mobile locust control teams 
operated in the region and also provided services to neighbouring Afghanistan, 
Tajik officials said. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, locust 
control measures have slipped back.

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