Swarming Locusts: A Crisis within a Crisis

2020 has been an incredibly difficult year; the COVID-19 pandemic, the Amphan cyclone, Gas leaks in Vizag and Pune, Uttarakhand forest fire, the scorching heatwaves in the Indian subcontinent. And just when we thought that it couldn’t get any worse, a swarm of desert locusts went on a rampage in the major cities of India.

The locust invasion has been currently categorized as an “upsurge” by The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Just so you know, locusts are a breed of short-horned grasshoppers that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behavior and habits, becoming gregarious. They can eat as much as their own body weight and fly over 150km in a day.

Major agricultural threat to India

With the swarm originating in the horn of Africa, it entered India after breeding in Balochistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The internet is filled with chilling visuals of the locust plague taking over Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana. These rapidly reproducing crop devouring pests have already destroyed 125,000 acres of cropland across the country, with an estimated loss of over Rs 100 crore, as suggested by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Locusts have been the cause of chaos and plagues since the dawn of time. With an economy that has crumbled down in the hands of the ongoing pandemic, this rogue locust attack can take the situation further downhill. According to the officials of Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), this attack is the worst in 26 years. The government has stepped up efforts to control the menace as it poses crop vulnerability and lethal threat to food safety if the outbreak is not contained. Spraying pesticides is the primary remedy to control swarming, however, the scale of the invasion makes the traditional spraying methods insufficient. Thus, the ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare have made a monumental move of bringing drones to the rescue. As per the latest issue by the Drone Federation of India, “Drones that are equipped to spray pesticides on crops are going to play a pivotal role to curb such outbreaks. The Directorate of Plant Production may use their own drones or utilize the services of a drone service provider for the same.”

Drones to the rescue

Rajasthan became the first Indian state to deploy drones in the Samod village in Chomu tehsil of Jaipur to clear a big swarm that had arrived in the area. These drones are tailor-made to spread 10 liters of chemicals, along with creating a sound to drive away these pests into different areas. “The biggest advantage of the drone is that it can fly above the flying zone of the locusts giving the flexibility to the officials to carry out combat operations while they are flying. Earlier, the operations were restricted to when they rested on a tree or on a crop,” said Mr. Om Prakash, former Minister of agriculture and farmers' welfare at the Haryana Government. The government has placed an order for buying 60 spraying machines from UK-based company Micron, and two firms have been finalized for the supply of drones for aerial spraying of insecticides for effective control of locusts over tall trees and inaccessible areas.

In light of the recent events, drones have taken the center stage throughout the world. Be it in ensuring disinfection and crowd management during COVID lockdowns or spraying pesticides and using speakers to drive away from the locust menace. Marut Drones has actively participated in Telangana’s fight against the pandemic and now stands alert to curb the locust onslaughts as well, as these deadly invaders take flight towards the state’s territory.