KUNDUZ -- The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has hired some 1,100 workers as part of an effort to eradicate locusts from farms in the provincial capital and five districts of Kunduz province.
The FAO launched the three-week campaign in co-ordination with Hand in Hand Afghanistan Organisation (HIHAO), said Sayed Wahidullah Hadafmand, director of HIHAO.
"The campaign started on April 21 in Aliabad, Dasht-i-Archi, Imam Sahib, Chahar Dara and Aqtash districts, and is overseen by the plant protection unit of the Kunduz Department of Agriculture," he said on April 29.
"We will pay each worker $100 [8,720 AFN] at the end of the three weeks so that they can support their families and help our farmers get rid of this natural pest," he told Salaam Times.
![Locals hired by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) pose for a group photo on April 29 in Aliabad district, Kunduz province, as they participate in the campaign to eradicate locusts from farms. [Obaidullah Ahmadi/Salaam Times]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/05/02/41941-c-739_416.webp)
Locals hired by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) pose for a group photo on April 29 in Aliabad district, Kunduz province, as they participate in the campaign to eradicate locusts from farms. [Obaidullah Ahmadi/Salaam Times]
Some 50 technical experts have been assigned to train the workers to spray pesticides on areas affected by locusts from morning until noon, said Hadafmand.
"This intervention pursues two objectives: creating short-term employment for local residents and supporting farmers by combating ... locusts in their farms," he added.
Thousands of hectares of land have already been cleared of locusts so far, Hadafmand said.
"[We] will continue until they are completely eradicated," he added.
Farmers hopeful for higher yields
The eradication campaign has given famers hope about the future of their agricultural yields.
Related to grasshoppers, locusts form enormous swarms that spread across regions, devouring crops and leaving serious agricultural damage in their wake.
Shah Mahmood, 64, a farmer in Qazal Sai village of Aliabad district, told Salaam Times that the area's farmers have been dealing with locusts swarming their farms for years.
"I have a 0.8-hectare piece of land. Every year, locusts would swarm my land in March and sit on wheat crops. I didn't know how to stop these pests. They would eat all wheat grains, affecting my wheat yields," he said.
"I am very happy that I am getting rid of this plague since the FAO has launched this timely campaign," he added. "God willing, we will get good yields from our lands this year."
"Locusts would swarm the agricultural fields, causing significant losses to the farmers. We are happy that this year, we will make up for the losses of the previous years," said Abdul Rahman, 34, another resident of the village.
Rahman said he used to suffer significant losses every year due to locust attacks on his 0.6-hectare farm.
This year, however, he is hopeful this will not be the case.
"We are grateful to the support from aid agencies and call on them to provide us with locust pesticide and spraying machines so that we can use them if needed," he said.
Short-term economic support
The locals hired to work on the project are also happy with their short-term employment.
Abdul Rahim, 32, a resident of Aliabad district who has three children, told Salaam Times he has been suffering from poverty and unemployment.
"I am a mason ... but the economy is very bad now, and no one wants to build or renovate homes, and there is no work," he said.
"With the $100 I will receive for my work, I will provide for my family for a month, but I don't know what I'll do after that," he said.
Ghulam Haidar Haidari, 28, a graduate of Kunduz University, has also been working for the campaign.
"I have been searching for a job for the last two years, but unfortunately, I cannot find any work," he told Salaam Times.
"We work from 8am to 4pm. First, we dig ditches that are 1 to 1.5 metres deep, then we spray pesticides in our targeted area, collect locusts in large plastic bags and bury them in the ditches," he said.
Recruiting 1000 people in Kunduz province for the destruction of locusts by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a very good. This assistance will save the villagers from the evil of locusts and it will provide job opportunities for the people of this province. These 1,000 people can buy AFN 8730 of food and necessities for their families with their monthly income.
Reply5 Comment
Locusts are indeed a threat to farmers' crops and can make the seasons go wrong, but it is not evaluated at such a level that the United Nations should appoint such people. Every farmer has two or three workers in their house, and in Afghanistan, children perform hard work; therefore, the killing of locusts should be left to the families to destroy themselves. But now it is a high-level work as the United Nations hires workers to perform such a job. Instead of doing this, they should have done other work in a different sector. The children could do this work, so they may better leave it for the children or the farmers to do it themselves. Robert Mugabe said when he became president, an international non-governmental organization came and explained their program "ending poverty in Africa" to me, which was mentioned in their vision. Mugabe said; I became thrilled and thanked him, but the following morning, the minister of economic development told me that the NGO's members had come to his office and said, we have the agreement of the president; we want to implement two of our projects; their first project is "distributing 8,000 soothers to infants" and the second project is "public education to the mothers as how should they give soothers in the babies' mouths." Should I let them do that or not?
ReplyYou are correct to some extent, but every organization has its program. For example, if an organization builds unpaved roads, it cannot pave them. Another organization makes paved roads; its program does not include drilling wells. Everyone does their work. Another thing is the hiring of farmers, but it is not mentioned in the report that they brought workers from another place and killed the locusts. These are the civilians of this area who are hired to kill locusts and get paid.
Reply5 Comment
These locusts saddened me. :( I wish Afghans were not poor and were letting these locusts eat from the fields, but I wonder why these locusts, the sons of bitch, do not eat the plants of the desert as they come and eat the ready crops of the people? It is necessary to prevent the proliferation of these locusts. They will originate from a particular place. They must destroy their eggs at the source because capturing and killing a live animal is not appropriate. They breathe, mention God, say God's name, and praise God. Please do not kill live the locusts. May Allah have mercy on Afghans, Afghanistan, and the whole world.
Reply5 Comment
Our father used to say that there was a plague of locusts when he served in the army in Kunar. He did military service during the reign of His Highness Zahir Shah. According to him, the government sent the army to eradicate the plague of locusts and requested the people to come out, get together and save the crops. My father used to say that the people made long and deep pits; they hit the locusts, turned the soil over them, and buried them alive. It was the same that with this method, all the locusts were killed, and the people were saved from the danger of crop destruction. So the issue of locusts is not new in Afghanistan. Now I don't know if this group of 1,000 people from the United Nations will prevent the locusts or not, but the thing is, it would be better if people were killed with this group of thousands. As much as I hear, this year, there was good wheat and other crops, but if people do not take action on time and prevent this pest, there is a possibility that the locusts will spoil the crops. The best thing is to have the team appointed by the United Nations, the general public, and the government to exterminate, destroy the locusts and save the crops.
Reply5 Comment