Ministry tells Lebanese farmers not to panic about locusts

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locust in beirut

A locust was spotted on a corn stalk in Beirut, March 16, 2013. According to the National News Agency (NNA), Lebanon woke up to news that swarms of locusts, which can consume about 100 thousand tons of green vegetation a day, have been spotted in Tripoli, Akkar, Tyre, Dbayeh and Adonis.

National News Agency also reported that residents in the south were concerned of what the grasshoppers might do to their crops.

However, the general director of the Agriculture Ministry, Louis Lahhoud, reassured farmers by saying that the Ministry saw no cause for alarm at this point and that it was looking into the matter further.

“As soon as we heard the news, we were on high alert and conducted a comprehensive survey on the ground,” he told the NNA.

“There is no need to panic because the [Agriculture] Ministry is fully prepared and there is nothing scary so far,” Lahhoud added.

“Lebanon does not have an environment that is favorable for locust multiplication,” the ministry assured, noting that they arrived in limited numbers.

It elaborated: “The arrival of locust was expected because of the current Pentecostal wind but they will not settle in the country”.

The director of the livestock department at the Ministry Mohammad Abu Zeid also said there were no reasons to assume the locusts posed a risk given the current stage of their lifecycle.

He said the locusts, which arrived in Lebanon Saturday morning, were harmless because “they are not in their mature phase yet.”

He told NNA that the weather, which is expected to turn cold in the coming days, is guaranteed to destroy the creatures and limit their dispersion.

Reuters photo

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16 responses to “Ministry tells Lebanese farmers not to panic about locusts”

  1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
    Hariri Assaoudi

    they are mostly where salafis and geagea3is are present; i wouldnt worry much: the country that received 800 thousand hungry palestinian refugees and a million hungry syrian refugees and survived, will no doubt survive a locust invasion

  2. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
    Hariri Assaoudi

    they are mostly were salafis and geagea3is are present; i wouldnt worry much: the country that received 800 thousand hungry palestinian refugees and a million hungry syrian refugees and survived, will no doubt survive a locust invasion

  3. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    I have told hungry friends how to prepare and bake grasshoppers … spicy, or dipped in chocolate, as a snack or in a sauce as a meal … good protein and free. 🙂
    One should note that the rats fleeing Damascus for want of wheat, can also be utilized … but mice are not worth the effort. And the Chinese eat dogs … why can’t we? Seems to be a few around Tripoli …
    It’s not going to be Syria with bumper crops this year either … so there’s a need for inventiveness.

    1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
      Hariri Assaoudi

      well, insect food is the future; there is going to be soon shortages of food and many restaurants are starting to serve insects like worms ants and cockroaches; actually in france there is a bakers making sweets based on insects; in london, i was recently invited to a very expensive 7 star hotel, the menu was insects…. if you want to invest in any financial share or whatever, make it in food industry and agricultural lands; dont do like baby hariri who lost his father’s fortune gambling, on salafis among others; poor baby, he is bankrupt now and indebted

  4. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    I have told hungry friends how to prepare and bake grasshoppers … spicy, or dipped in chocolate, as a snack or in a sauce as a meal … good protein and free. 🙂
    One should note that the rats fleeing Damascus for want of wheat, can also be utilized … but mice are not worth the effort. And the Chinese eats dogs … why can’t we? Seems to be a few around Tripoli …
    It’s not going to be Syria with bumper crops this year either … so there’s a need for inventiveness.

    1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
      Hariri Assaoudi

      well, insect food is the future; there is going to be soon shortages of food and many restaurants are starting to serve insects like worms ants and cockroaches; actually in france there is a bakers making sweets based on insects; in london, i was recently invited to a very expensive 7 star hotel, the menu was insects…. if you want to invest in any financial share or whatever, make it in food industry and agricultural lands; dont do like baby hariri who lost his father’s fortune gambling, on salafis among others; poor baby, he is bankrupt now and indebted

  5. lebanese people have nothing to worry about in 2006 hizballah defeated israel he will be able to eat few locusts and defeat them if he couldn;t aoun will eat the lot well he nearly ate lebanon he is not gonna be able to eat few insect

  6. lebanese people have nothing to worry about in 2006 hizballah defeated israel he will be able to eat few locusts and defeat them if he couldn;t aoun will eat the lot well he nearly ate lebanon he is not gonna be able to eat few insect

  7. Hannibal Avatar

    Damn Israelis… They stop at nothing… Now they engineered locusts to home in at Lebanese vegetations. We need a counter attack….

    1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
      Hariri Assaoudi

      ya noussak shou mahdoum; sayir 3am bitnakkit

      1. Hannibal Avatar

        I always had a suspicion you had a crush on me… and now…
        You just confirmed it. LOL

        1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
          Hariri Assaoudi

          if you say so

  8. José Jalapeño Avatar
    José Jalapeño

    Damn Israelis… They stop at nothing… Now they engineered locusts to home in at Lebanese vegetations. We need a counter attack….

    1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
      Hariri Assaoudi

      ya noussak shou mahdoum; sayir 3am bitnakkit

      1. José Jalapeño Avatar
        José Jalapeño

        I always had a suspicion you had a crush on me… and now…
        You just confirmed it. LOL

        1. Hariri Assaoudi Avatar
          Hariri Assaoudi

          if you say so

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