FAO supports the use of biopesticides against locusts in Central Asia and Caucasus
AKIpress
2023.05.02
Every year, locust infestations threaten Central Asian countries. Devouring crops and rangelands, they jeopardize the food security of thousands of people for which agriculture is the only source of income. For more than half a century, chemical pesticides have been the most rapid and efficient method to control locusts, UzA reported.
More than twenty years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) started to use less hazardous control methods. FAO promotes in particular the use of biopesticides that affect locusts and grasshoppers only and has no negative impact on human health and the environment.
In this context, on 25-29 April 2023, a demonstration/trial on biopesticides was organized in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan, by FAO in close liaison with the Agency for Quarantine and Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan. The event was covered by the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia” and in this framework, with the support of the projects funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Every year, locust infestations threaten Central Asian countries. Devouring crops and rangelands, they jeopardize the food security of thousands of people for which agriculture is the only source of income. For more than half a century, chemical pesticides have been the most rapid and efficient method to control locusts, UzA reported.
More than twenty years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) started to use less hazardous control methods. FAO promotes in particular the use of biopesticides that affect locusts and grasshoppers only and has no negative impact on human health and the environment.
In this context, on 25-29 April 2023, a demonstration/trial on biopesticides was organized in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan, by FAO in close liaison with the Agency for Quarantine and Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan. The event was covered by the FAO “Programme to improve national and regional locust management in Caucasus and Central Asia” and in this framework, with the support of the projects funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
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