China Combats Plagues of LocustsThe Ministry of Agriculture and local governments have taken measures to control plagues of locusts.According to official sources, plagues of locusts from East Asia have destroyed 930,000 ha of crops in Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces and Tianjin Municipality. More than 2 million ha of farmland have been hit by Italian locusts in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. There are over 10,000 locusts per square meter in some of the worst-hit areas. Agricultural experts said that the total coverage of farmland hit by locusts will probably expand from the current over 2 million to 3.3 million ha this summer. The Ministry of Agriculture has allocated special funds to the Chinese provinces plagued by locusts. These places have prepared more than 1,000 tons of locust pesticides and mobilized more than 10,000 people and 10 airplanes to wipe out the locusts. |
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