May 14, 2021
Iranian authorities are engaged in a large-scale operation across several provinces in the south to battle swarms of migratory locusts that threaten billions of dollars’ worth of growing crops.
Large waves of yellow-colored desert locusts, which are regarded as some of the most destructive migratory pests in the world, have traveled to Iran from the Arabian Peninsula for the third year in a row.
The main challenge now is in the three provinces of Bushehr, Khuzestan and Ilam. According to the authorities, that could grow to cover 13 of Iran’s 31 provinces.
Saeed Moin, the head of Iran’s Plant Protection Organization (PPO), said just after Now Ruz that he expects to battle locusts in as many as 600,000 hectares (2,300 square miles acres) of land by mid-summer.
The operation, which is expected to last until September, has been undercut by high winds and decreased rainfall in recent days.
Iranian officials have had to enlist the help of the military in battling the swarms in the past two years. There have been no reports of the military being called for the operation to combat swarms so far this year.
Last year, India, which has been dealing with the same problem, proposed a regional cooperation plan with Iran and Pakistan to combat the locusts.
New Delhi has so far delivered two shipments of pesticides to Iran. The first shipment was delivered in June 2020 and the second just before Now Ruz.