BEIJING, Mar. 19 (China Economic Net) - Compared with the locusts in China in the past, the desert locusts in the disaster in Pakistan can be described in three words: large, strong and ferocious. They are very aggressive and can cause serious ecological damage. It is said that they not only eat almost all kinds of plants, but also bite people.

 

The desert locust swarms have been ravaging East Africa and South Asia for several months, and the impact continues to expand. In Pakistan, desert locusts have caused serious damage to agricultural production in many areas. 

 

At present, locusts are starting copulation and reproduction. If effective measures are not taken urgently, the consequences of the locust disaster will be unimaginable.

 

In order to help Pakistan cope with the disaster, China sent a locust disaster prevention and control team to Pakistan. From February 23 to March 5, the working group investigated several affected areas in Pakistan, had in-depth exchanges with relevant departments of Pakistan, and put forward targeted comprehensive prevention and control proposals, which were highly appreciated and recognized by the Pakistani side.

 

At the same time, considering the urgency of locust disaster management, China has been urgently providing Pakistan with prevention and control materials. The first batch arrived in Karachi on the morning of March 9. China will also deliver locust killing materials to Pakistan in the next two batches. It is planned that all the aid materials will be delivered to Pakistan by the end of April so as to help Pakistan effectively control the locust disaster.

 

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and the two countries always have a good tradition of helping each other. China believes that the government and people of Pakistan will be able to conquer the locust disaster. China is willing to continue to provide support and help within its capabilities according to Pakistan's needs, strengthen cooperation in personnel training, experience sharing, technical support and other aspects, help Pakistan establish and improve a comprehensive pest control system, and effectively improve Pakistan's biological disaster prevention and control capabilities. 

 

In China, there is a history of more than 2,200 years of the locust disaster. After the founding of the People`s Republic of China, the locust disaster was completely managed. The intelligent ancient Chinese found a lot of ways to deal with the locust disasters. Here I would like to briefly introduce two ways.

 

The first is bonfire trapping. Locusts like light, so ancient Chinese lighted a bonfire to attract a large number of locusts. When locusts met the fire, they naturally lost their ability to fly, and then they could be killed by manpower.

 

The second is trench burying. Ancient Chinese dug deep trenches where locusts passed by. When the locusts arrived, people beat the brass to make sounds and lured them into the trenches, and then buried them.

 

There was another way for the ancient Chinese people to deal with locusts. As the saying goes “locusts, if you eat my grains, I will eat you locusts.” Of course, there was no other way out. All the grains had been eaten up by locusts and the people had nothing to eat but locusts. People cooked, fried, or roasted locusts for food. Locusts contain high protein and it is really delicious food.

 

The wise ancient Chinese also worked very hard on prevention. In ancient times, reclamation was the main method for prevention. Reclamation can eliminate locust eggs and effectively prevent locust disasters. In addition, green beans and other crops that locusts did not eat were planted in dry areas where locusts easily bred.

 

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government mobilized manpower to inspect the areas where locust disasters occurred, found out the spawning sites and densities of locusts, and then did the research. The ecological transformation of locust areas, through the construction of water conservancy and reclamation, made the original breeding sites of locusts become good farmland. In addition, with the development of biotechnology and the progress of aviation technology, China began to use aircraft to kill locusts on a large scale. In recent years, the development of unmanned drones and nano pesticide has made China take the lead in locust killing technology in the world.

 

Now the global population is 7.6 billion. China has a population of 1.4 billion and Pakistan has a population of more than 200 million. Chairman Mao once said, "if you have grain in your hand, you will feel at ease.” It means that if you have food, you will not be afraid of anything else. Only you don't have to worry about starvation, can you do what you want in your mind. Therefore, grain security is very important.

 

Since the beginning of this year, the global desert locust disaster has been deteriorating. The global desert locust disaster started from East Africa and has gradually spread to other parts of Africa, West Asia and South Asia, affecting more than 20 countries, including Pakistan, and seriously threatening the food security of hundreds of millions of people.

 

It seems that the year 2020 is not a good year. The Australian fire, the American flu, the global novel coronavirus epidemic, the heavy storm in Brazil and the severe snowstorm in Canada have been occurring in succession. Even worse, desert locusts have come out to make troubles.

 

I have noticed a situation in particular that most of the areas affected by the locust disaster are poor areas where hungry people all over the world gather. More than 20 million people in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya are threatened by famine. I don't know how many people will endure famine during the period of the locust disaster.

 

The serious disasters this year may have made people all over the world realize the power of nature. Therefore, we should know how to respect nature and protect the environment. When nature is angry, mankind will suffer. There is only one Earth for human beings. All countries live in one world. All countries should have the consciousness of "community of shared future for mankind".

 

It is very unlikely that desert locusts will invade China. Locust disasters mainly occur in the valleys and oases in Africa and the tropical desert areas in southwest Asia. Locusts like high temperature and drought, and the suitable temperature for migration is 40℃. The Kunlun Mountains and the Himalayas are natural barriers in the southwest border of China. It is difficult for desert locusts to cross high-altitude mountains. The ecological environment and climate in cold areas are not suitable for the survival of desert locusts. Even if the desert locusts move in, China has rich experience and advanced technology for locust control, and China is fully capable of dealing with the situation.

 

Cheng Xizhong, special commentator of China Economic Net, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, senior fellow of the Charhar Institute, former Defense Attache in South Asian countries, former UN Senior Military Observer