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Locusts destroy crops in Afghanistan, leaving farmers in despair
Hundreds of thousands of locusts have descended on crops in northern Afghanistan, leaving already famine-stricken farmers and their families in despair.
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Published on Jun 14, 2023 05:32 pm IST
Farmers walk amidst a locust swarm near a wheat field near the Kandali area in Sholgara district, Balkh province, on June 4. Hundreds of thousands of locusts have descended on crops in northern Afghanistan, under the helpless gaze of farmers and their families already stalked by famine, reported AFP. (Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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Locusts feed on grassland during in the Kandali area in Sholgara district, Balkh province, on June 4. According to a UN report, after feasting on the harvest the locusts lay eggs to hatch anew next spring, continuing a cycle of destruction in a nation where nine in 10 families already struggle to afford food, reported AFP. (Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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Farmers walk to check a wheat field during a locust swarm in the Kandali area in Sholgara district, Balkh province, on June 4. In the village of Kandali in northern Balkh, one of eight affected provinces in the country's breadbasket, a staggering swarm of grey insects has amassed on a fallow wheat field, reported AFP. (Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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A farmer catches locusts near a wheat field in the Kandali area on June 4. "They eat everything that is green: wheat, peas, sesame," Baz Mohammad, a representative of Kandali village, told AFP.(Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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A farmer walks amidst a locust swarm near a wheat field in the Kandali area. Desperate farmers used nets to sweep up the plague of Moroccan Locusts - one of the world's most voracious pests before burying them in trenches, but their numbers are still multiplying. Afghanistan is facing its third consecutive year of drought, with farmers in Kandali reporting no rain since March, which could have helped wash away the bugs, reported AFP. (Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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Farmers catch locusts near a wheat field amid a locust swarm in the Kandali area. Baz Mohammad, the representative of Kandali village told AFP “We walk with hungry stomachs to kill the locusts. If we don't kill them, our agriculture will be ruined,” (Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
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Published on Jun 14, 2023 05:32 pm IST