パキスタンでバッタ大量発生　過去３０年で最悪の作物被害

【ピプリパハールＡＦＰ＝時事】パキスタンでバッタが大量発生し、国内の農業地帯では過去30年間近くで最悪の被害が出ている。特に農業の中心地で作物が壊滅的な打撃を受け、食料価格の急騰を招いている。（写真はパキスタン・パンジャブ州ピプリパハール村に大量発生したバッタの死骸）
　国連（ＵＮ）は、アラビア半島を昨年襲った豪雨とサイクロンが「前例のない」バッタの繁殖を促したと指摘している。このバッタの大群は、東アフリカからインドにかけて広がり農地に大きな被害をもたらした後、イランを通ってパキスタン南西部の砂漠地帯から同国へ侵入。パキスタン政府は深刻な被害を受けて全土に緊急事態を宣言し、国際社会に緊急援助を要請した。
　パキスタン南部シンド州では、換金作物である綿の壊滅的被害が懸念されている。州都カラチ付近では全体の半分の作物が被害を受けている。
　また北東部パンジャブ州の当局は、被害を受けた地区に殺虫剤を散布するなど「駆除対策を開始」したと明らかにした。有害な煙霧が広がる中、毎日村人らは１キロ当たり２０パキスタン・ルピー（約１３円）の報奨金のために農地でバッタの死骸を集めている。しかしこの作業は時間がかかる上、１か所の農地でバッタを駆除している間に、別の農地の作物が壊滅していることも多い。
　当局が使用する殺虫剤は食べる上で危険なため、バッタを駆除しても残った農作物も廃棄しなければならない。殺虫剤の散布の順を待つ間、苦肉の策として鍋をたたいて叫びながらバッタを追い出そうとする農家もある。
　ムハンマド・ハシム・ポパルザイ食料安全保障・研究相は、中国の専門家らによるチームが今回の危機を調査するためにパキスタンに到着したとＡＦＰに明らかにした。中国はより迅速で効果的な害虫駆除方法として、殺虫剤の空中散布を申し出る可能性もあり、またパキスタンが中国から殺虫剤を輸入する可能性もある。
　パキスタンの農業は長い間干ばつや水源の縮小に直面してきた。経済は１２年連続で高インフレ率にあえいでおり、過去１年間では砂糖の値段が２倍近く、小麦粉の値段は１５％上昇した。
　パンジャブ州ピプリパハール村の農業従事者らの多くは、バッタの駆除対策を講じるには遅すぎると感じている。ラフィヤ・ビビさんは牛と一緒に小麦畑の隅に座り、周囲に殺虫剤がまかれるのを眺めていた。
　ビビさんは政府から４万５０００パキスタン・ルピー（約３万円）を借り入れ、菜種、ヒマワリ、トウガラシ、タバコなどを購入したが、バッタの大群はすでにこれらの作物を台無しにしてしまった。収穫できなければ借金を返す方法はないという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/03/09-12:50）

Pakistan's farmers are struggling to combat the worst locust plague in nearly three decades as insect swarms decimate entire harvests in the country's agricultural heartlands and send food prices soaring.
Heavy rains and cyclones sparked unprecedented breeding and the explosive growth of locust populations on the Arabian peninsula early last year, according to the United Nations.
The insects have since fanned out and wreaked havoc on farms from East Africa to India before making their way into Pakistan from the desert on the country's southwestern border with Iran.
The crisis is so severe that the government has declared a nationwide emergency and urgently appealed for help from the international community.
Officials in southern Sindh province fear the infestation will devastate the supply of cotton, the local cash crop, ahead of its harvest in the coming months.
Local surveys of the damage are continuing, but the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture says nearly half of all crops have been destroyed near the port city of Karachi.
I have not seen an infestation like this one in my career, said Shehbaz Akhtar, an agricultural official charged with locust eradication efforts in the village of Pipli Pahar in central Punjab province.
- 'Combat operation' -
Local authorities had launched a combat operation to clear the area of infestation with pesticide sprays, he said.
Clouds of the noxious gas envelop the nearby fields each morning, where villagers gather the husks of dead insects for an official bounty of 20 rupees (13 cents) per kilogramme bag.
We spray twice a day here, says Fayyaz Azeem, clad in a face mask and thick industrial gloves on top of a tractor discharging pesticide into rows of crops.
But the process is slow and time-consuming, and by the time locusts are killed off in one field they have often already destroyed the next.
The pesticides used by officials are also dangerous for consumption, so even when the locusts are dead the remaining crops have to be discarded.
Some farmers have been forced to opt for more desperate solutions while waiting for their fields to be sprayed and have attempted to scare off the swarms by shouting and banging pots.
A team of Chinese experts has arrived in Pakistan to survey the crisis, food security ministry chief Muhammad Hashim Popalzai told AFP.
Beijing could also offer aerial spraying -- a much faster and more efficient method of pest control -- and Pakistan may also import pesticides from China.
Earlier reports circulating online suggested China was planning to send thousands of ducks to Pakistan to devour the scourge. Pakistani officials said no such plans were being considered.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has also set up meetings between India and Pakistan to prevent the swarms from spreading, Popalzai said.
- 'What can I do?' -
Agriculture accounts for 20 percent of Pakistan's GDP but the sector has already struggled for years in the face of drought and dwindling water supplies.
The country is also experiencing 12-year inflation highs, with the cost of sugar nearly doubling and flour prices jumping 15 percent in the past year.
Years without a locust attack meant the government had become complacent about the risks of a new infestation, said Pakistan Farmers Bureau president Zafar Hayyat.
Though he applauded the steps being taken to fight the plague, Hayyat warned of the risk that swarms would return mid-year after the next locust breeding season.
For many farmers in Pipli Pahar, the extermination campaign has already come too late.
Sitting in the corner of a wheat field with her cow, Rafiya Bibi watches the flurry of pesticide spraying around her.
The locusts have already destroyed her crops of canola, sunflower, chili and tobacco, which she had bought after borrowing 45,000 rupees from the government.
With no harvest, she has no way to repay the loan.
What can I do? she said. All I can do is cry, what else can I do?