By Sue-Ann Wayow
UNITED National Congress (UNC) politicians are calling on Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat to immediately take action to stop the devastation caused by locusts in the Princes Town area.
Up to Thursday, the locusts were still prevalent in the area.
Member of Parliament for Princes Town Barry Padarath in a media release stated that the lack of intervention by the ministry showed clear discrimination for the Opposition constituency.
Rambharat speaking on I95.5 FM said that this was a reoccurring problem and the locust lifespan will eventually come to an end.
When AZPNews.com contacted the minister on Tuesday, he said, “Nowhere in the world has there been a solution to swarming locusts.”
Padarath said the locusts were affecting vegetation and crops in a predominantly agriculture-based constituency for the past two weeks and that pleas from both him and his councillors have gone unanswered.
The MP has called for the immediate intervention of the Ministry of Agriculture to have the areas sprayed as well as assessed for compensation to be paid to farmers for the loss of their crops and livelihoods.
Locust most dangerous pest
The MP for Couva North and Opposition’s shadow Minister of Agriculture, Ravi Ratiram also said the locusts’ situation needed immediate intervention.
He said, “The locust is regarded as one of the most dangerous pests in the world. A single female lays on average 300 eggs, so that by speaking to the pest’s life span and by his own admission of it being a recurring problem, Minister Rambharat clearly shows an unwillingness to help affected residents and farmers fuelled by ignorance.”
Ratiram added that in other countries, innovative solutions have been used to combat the problem, yet citizens cannot rely on spraying, much less look at measures to arrest future infestations.
Councillor calls for action
And local government councillor for Inverness/Princes Town South Deryck Mathura also pleaded for an immediate solution.
In a release on Monday, Mathura said, “There has been major concerns with the continuous infestation of locusts within my area, for the last two weeks which has many farmers who depend on agriculture as their livelihoods. I have had conversations with the Ministry of Agriculture, however, to this date, there has been no official response from them or the Minister, concerning the area being sprayed or assessed for compensation. Dealing with the pandemic, many residents had losses of income and depended partially or entirely on agriculture.”
The minister’s response
Rambharat told AZPNews.com, “They are asking for aerial spraying. Several years ago the Ministry of Health advised that aerial spraying should not be conducted in those populated areas. It’s not safe.”
He added, “Compensation is not part of the current policy and is not being considered.”
