Pakistani Farmers Are Earning Money From Locusts, Find Out How

Bhavna Acharya |Jun 11, 2020

They are paid 20 rupees for 1 kilogram of locusts and two farmers can collect up to 1600 rupees in a single night.

Can Locusts Be Eaten? If Yes, Should We Consume Them To Stop Locust Attack In India?

Not only India but our neighbor Pakistan is now struggling to deal with the devastating locust attack in different ways. Recently, the Pakistan government came up with an offbeat solution to cope up with the issue. In fact, farmers can now earn money by selling dried locust which can be used as poultry feed.

Locusts — Pakistani farmers are making the best out of the worst as locust swarms are destroying their crops

While the country is witnessing the biggest locust invasion over the past 2 decades which sweep over the agricultural heartland and destroy farmer’s only source of income, Pakistan scientists and government came up with a program encouraging people to each locust as they are rich in protein. According to biotechnologist Johar Ali, Okara district in Punjab is the most suitable place to experiment the idea as the district uses no pesticide so locusts are safe to eat.

Along with the scientists, the food ministry teaches the locals to catch the locust with nets at night. It’s quite easy to scoop up locust as they lie motionlessly on trees and grass at night. Pakistan farmers are earning money from catching locust as their crops are totally destroyed due to the insect invasion. They are paid 20 rupees for 1 kilogram of locusts and two farmers can collect up to 1600 rupees in a single night.

Despite the doubt, more and more farmers started to join locusts hunting. After more than a week, 20 tons of locusts had been collected and the government had to put the program to a stop as they ran out of money. However, the second phase of the program will be back soon.

Meanwhile, Hi-Teach Feeds, the largest animal-feed producer in Pakistan is in charge of handling the whopping amount of locusts. In fact, they added it to chicken food and found no issue with the feed. Although the initiative is not a long term solution to cope up with the locust invasion in the country, it’s an effective way to financially support farmers during a hard time.

Meanwhile, the giant locust swarms are expanding over the Arabian Peninsula East Africa and many parts of India. The situation is yet at its worst as it is said to explode during the upcoming monsoon.

Also read: Can Locusts Be Eaten? If Yes, Should We Consume Them To Stop Locust Attack In India?