عنوان

Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture asks citizens to check the safety of the locust from the pesticide before catching and eating.

Eng. Nassir Al Shamsi, the Director of the Agricultural Quarantine Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said: "The Ministry is monitoring the spread of desert locusts in the Sultanate and will be combated in the event of the proliferation of large and affected the residents and farms."

"So far, the pesticide has been sprayed in wilayat Quriyat only in cooperation with farmers there and citizens must ensure the safety of locusts and it is not affected by the pesticide from responsible authorities before start catching it to eat," Al Shamsi added.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said in a statement online: " The Ministry is closely following the desert locust situation in various governorates of the Sultanate. Several foci have been identified for desert locust in some wilayats of the Sultanate which emerged as a result of improved environmental conditions that following rainfall.

"After the discovery of these foci, Immediately specialists in the Ministry took the appropriate control measures, intensifying the survey and exploration to monitor any other gatherings early and take appropriate measures to eliminate them," the ministry statement read.

"However, the presence of locust in the Sultanate is normal because Oman is a rest stop for desert locusts during its journey from Africa to East Asia. But if locusts find the right environment it lay their eggs and multiply, this is what happened in the Sultanate this year because of the rains that have occurred during the past weeks," Eng. Nassir Al Shamsi explains.