Southern Russia have been experiencing a vast locust infestation on their fields which forced the authorities to declare a state of emergency in the region.
At least 800 hectares of land have been infested with millions of locust for the past few weeks now. According to the officials, it's been 30 years since the region have been infected by the swarm of insects. The damage of locust infestation have already reached 10% of the total crops planted in the region and the insects continue to rummage their lands. Authorities are worrying that if the infestation continues, there will no left crop fields to harvest which can be a total disaster for the local farmers.
The locust swarms are moving fast, and once the food is wiped out from a certain land, they will go to other fields where there are food. The authorities are having a hard time keeping up with their movements to carry out anti- insect treatments on the crops.Tatiana Drishcheva of the Russia Argricultural Center, said in an interview that "In Kalmikya, Astrakhan, Volgagrad, and Dagestan, there is already no food left for the locusts, so they have moved on to other sources of food."
One farmer shared that nothing was left from his corn field. Locusts have eaten his crops from leaves up to its cob. Russian broadcasts say that the locust infestation was caused by climate change, recent flooding, and rising temperature causing a disruption on the ecological processes in the environment.
The government is doubling their efforts in getting rid of the insects by adding more crop- spraying flights but summer season in the country is not helping. Hot weather causes the sprays to be less effective for the crops.
The locusts that are infecting the Russian fields have a wingspan of almost 12 centimeters, as long as those of sparrows', and a body of 8 centimeters long.
