Fresh locust swarm enters India’s sugar cane region

Bloomberg

A fresh swarm of desert locusts has entered Uttar Pradesh, India’s biggest sugarcane grower, via capital city Delhi and the northern state of Haryana, according to the federal farm ministry.
Operations to control the grasshoppers are in full swing in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,
Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra, the ministry said in a statement. Tractors, fire engines and drones are engaged in spraying pesticides to kill them, it said.
A massive locust attack adds another challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, which is trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus and limit its impact on the economy. It cannot risk food crops getting destroyed as millions of people have been pushed into poverty after losing their livelihoods due to the world’s most stringent stay-at-home rules.
While movement restrictions are being relaxed, India has become the fourth country with more than 500,000 infections.
The hoppers, which normally settle on trees during the night and fly during the day, have been controlled in about 314,379 acres of area across the country between April 11 and June 26, the ministry said.
Farmers grow mainly rice, pulses, cotton, sugarcane and soybeans on about 106 million hectares during the monsoon season between June and September.