Locust outbreak in various provinces confirmed
2020 is coming to an end but not before dishing out some final apocalyptic horrors.
As if this year has not put us through enough, 2020 is not quite finished giving us the worst it has to offer.
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The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms. Thoko Didiza has official released a statement confirming that multiple provinces are currently experiencing locust outbreaks.
The only provinces that are affected as of today are the Free State, the Nothern Cape, and the Western Cape.
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I wish to urge farmers and farmer organisations to alert us whenever they spot these locusts and work with our officials on the ground to curb the spread.
Since being notified of the locust issue, officials have been implementing control measures to help curb the spread.
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Unfortunately, the strong winds in these areas are assisting the locust's flight and are helping them spread further.
The department is still fighting to combat this outbreak as they have dispatched a team of specialists to the province's affected areas.
Together with the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development officials, the Agricultural research council, and farmer organisations they are hoping to put a stop to this pest.
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The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development is also advising members of the public to report any signs of these swarms to the following departmental officials:
- Mr. Gert Greyvenstein: 082 451 4860
- Ms Vuyokazi Mpumlwana: 084 760 8176
- Dr Ikalafeng Kgakatsi: 072 198 9882
Hopefully, this is truly the last devastating news 2020 has to offer.
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Main image courtesy of Twitter