By bne Gulf bureau
A massive locusts infestation in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah has left farmers grappling with unprecedented crop damage, particularly watermelons and tomatoes, a staple of the country’s food production, 96.4 reported on June 14.
This latest infestation is part of a growing trend of pest-related agricultural challenges linked to climate change. As global temperatures rise and weather patterns become more erratic, experts warn that such infestations may become more frequent and intense, threatening food security and farmers' livelihoods worldwide. That, coupled with increasing droughts, is putting a severe strain on food production in the region, which is struggling to deal with the changing weather patterns. Farmers in the primarily Kurdish area are said to be facing significant financial losses due to the infestation, which experts attribute to insufficient snowfall in the region.
Harem Namiq, a farmer from near Nizara village in Penjwen, told the local site that while his fields have experienced periodic infestations in the past, this year's event is unparalleled in its severity.
'After planting, our crops were reinfested, diminishing much of our expected yield,' Namiq said. He estimated his losses at nearly IQD2mn ($1,526), a significant amount for a farmer in that country expecting a harvest.
Farmers have attempted to combat the locusts using various pesticides, but their efforts have proved largely ineffective. Many like Namiq, however, have been forced to abandon parts of their cultivated land as a result of the increasing infestations in the country.
Osman Jalal, an agricultural engineer in local area, noted that villages in the north of the country have been particularly hard hit in the past few months, laying the blame on climate change for not killing off the pests.
'The lack of sufficient snowfall in Penjwen usually helps to naturally curb the pest population,' Jalal said.
Despite recommending specific pesticides, Jalal conceded that the severity of this year's infestation has rendered most treatments ineffective.
Earlier it was reported that locust infestations have accelerated across Asia as temperatures continue to rise. Tajikistan and Afghanistan are facing a dangerous Moroccan Locust (Dociostaurus maroccanus, or DMA) “situation level”, according to the latest Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forecasting on invasive swarms of the crop-devouring pest.
