Salah Moawwad, head of the agricultural services sector, said that the border with Sudan and the Red Sea coast has been inspected for locusts, in order to prevent them from reaching agricultural areas in the Delta and Nile Valley.
Moawwad told Al-Masry Al-Youm that 80 percent of the locusts have been killed, adding that they are being eradicated in 17 areas across four governorates.
However, Moawwad also said that the red locusts do not threaten agricultural output because they are sexually immature and dependent on fat stores during migration to reproduction grounds located in Saudi Arabia.
Moawwad called on Egyptians to stop burning tires and plastic to ward off locusts, saying such measures lead to their spread to other areas. Instead citizens should inform governorate authorities if they spot locusts.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
