Doha – Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior announced today that the country has increased its standby level after the recognition of limited swarms of the desert grasshopper in the southeastern regions, since the concerns about grasshoppers from African Sahel and Northwest Africa have increased growing concerns.
“All relevant sectors and specialized services have increased vigilance, mobilization and preparation level in order to face all challenges in connection with the spread of this type of insects”, the Ministry specified In an official publication, it found that the situation “remains under control and is currently not worrying about concern”.
Häuschreanwarmen were recently discovered “To a limited extent and in limited numbers in some southeastern areas of the kingdom,” confirmed the ministry and said that this triggered the implementation of the necessary preventive measures to combat all potential developments.
As part of its proactive reaction, the authorities reactivated the command centers across the provinces concerned in order to monitor the situation and take the necessary measures.
These measures include mobilization of resources, the setting of all means of intervention in the willingness and the formation of specialized teams that are equipped with machines, equipment and pesticides for surveillance and grasshoppers control. The Ministry emphasized that air resources were also mobilized.
“It is necessary to confirm the availability of sufficient pesticide stocks to deal with an emergency,” said the ministry and added that intervention teams made all the necessary precautions to protect the ecosystems and to maintain the biological diversity of natural environments such as water, plants and animal resources.
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This infestation follows unprecedented grasshopper movements in North Africa, after he had already affected agricultural areas in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria before reaching Morocco’s borders.
Tunisia has reported that around 600 hectares of desert grasshoppers are affected by March 27, with the surveillance operations in several governorships. FAO experts are currently evaluating the situation in Tunisia, in which there are favorable conditions for the grasshopper expansion.
Experts explained that the youngest Heavy rains And the temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius have created favorable conditions for the grasshopper breeding in eastern and desert regions. The eastern winds, known as the “CHergui winch”, make the cross-border movement of insects easier.
The Ministry promised that “all affected services and sectors remain mobilized in order to strengthen monitoring, education and surveillance operations, especially in areas that experience natural grasshopper concentrations, and take various measures to limit and eliminate its spread.”
According to the UN food and agricultural organization (Fao) A small crowd of grasshoppers can consume the same amount of food as 35,000 people in one day or damage about 100 tons of plants in a square kilometer of fields, which may threaten nutritional security in the affected regions.
The Ministry emphasized that its comprehensive reaction strategy prioritizes both effective control measures and environmental protection and maintain the willingness and at the same time ensure that all interventions are followed by protocols to preserve natural resources and biological diversity.
