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Farmers urged to be on alert for infestations
A warning has been sent to all farmers in the Northern Cape's locust infested areas to be on the alert for repeated infestations in large parts of the province during this weekend.
Provincial Department of Agriculture and Land Reform said rainfall in large part of the province was expected this weekend from Thursday to Saturday noting that complacency on the part of all stakeholders might result in renewed exterminating efforts.
The department urged farmers in the affected Pixley Ka Seme district towns of Hopetown, Petrusville and Strydenburg to act swiftly against locusts infestations by immediately making contact with the Department of Agriculture's Locusts Exterminating Teams should they notice any swarms or breeding activity on their farms.
Absent farmers, the department said, are warned of suffering exponential losses should they not give attention as their farms might be reduced to reproduction hotspots and further exacerbating the plague.
The department has requested farmers to allow their ground teams immediate access to their farms and assured them that the chemicals that would be used were highly environmentally friendly.
“Our strict monitoring and controlling by 23 teams yielded positive results in that no swarms had been reported in the morning of Tuesday with four swarms having been successfully battled the night before and most of the farmers acted responsibly in heeding to our SMS warnings for them to immediately implement locusts control measures,” the department said.
The department has noted that the exterminating operation continues despite a massive decrease in the number of swarms.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
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