Huaphan suffers return of locust plague
Almost 200 hectares of bamboo in 40 villages of eight districts in Huaphan province are under attack by the yellow-spined bamboo locust, with the area being sprayed with insecticide to prevent the locusts spreading to croplands. Head of the province’s agriculture sector, Mr Siviengsab Phengphomma, told Vientiane Times on Thursday the locust outbreak began in March and had spread to several districts. “Some 140 hectares of bamboo in the districts of Xon, Hiem, Huameuang, Xamneua, Viengxay, Sobbao, Xiengkhor, and Add have suffered from the locust outbreak,” he said. “The Agriculture and Forestry Office in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, local authorities and villagers are working to destroy locust eggs, catch the insects or spray them, and are carrying out vigilant surveillance of the outbreak.”
