ISLAMABAD-Apart from assisting Pakistan in its fight against the COVID-19 contagion, the government of Japan, in collaboration with a Japanese non governmental organisation (NGO) and some private organizations, is all set to provide insecticide to Pakistan to support their efforts for combating the serious threats emanating from the desert locusts attacks in the agricultural fields of the country.
To this effect, a Japanese NGO (CWS-Japan) will hand over 58 kilo liters of insecticide "Lambda Cyhalothrine EC 2.5" to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) through the CWS-Asia, partner NGO of the CWS-Japan this month to combat desert locusts.
In addition to this, CWS-Japan will also extend support to the Pakistani farmers who have been affected by the desert locusts invasion, said a news release of Japanese embassy here on Tuesday.
In this backdrop, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan MATSUDA Kuninori Tuesday visited the NDMA and held a meeting with its Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal to express Japan’s commitment to support the government of Pakistan and its people for minimizing the damage caused by desert locusts.
During the meeting, the ambassador informed the NDMA chairman about the upcoming support from Japan to Pakistan through a Japanese NGO CWS-Japan.
The ambassador said the damage being caused by the desert locusts to crops and other agricultural products was a serious problem not only in Pakistan but also in other South Asian countries which faced similar situation and that plague was becoming an imminent threat to the world's food supply.
Ambassador MATSUDA further said in the midst of intensifying impact of coronavirus pandemic on health, it was imperative to successfully control the locusts infestation in order to secure the livelihood and food security of the vulnerable communities of Pakistan.
Realizing the seriousness of the issue and in light of a longstanding friendship between our two countries, the government of Japan, along with CWS-Japan, would support the people of Pakistan especially the farmer’s community battling against desert locust swarms, he maintained.