June 12, 2020

 

Pakistan to expand programme converting locusts to poultry feed

 

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the country will expand a pilot programme in Punjab province, where villagers catch locusts that are then converted to poultry feed, Aljazeera reported.

 

The project, developed by Muhammad Khurshid from Pakistan's food ministry and biotechnologist Johar Ali, was inspired by Yemen where people were persuaded to eat high-protein locusts amid a famine.

 

Okara, Punjab was selected for the pilot project as farmers there do not use pesticides that would make the locusts unacceptable for poultry consumption.

 

Locals were paid 20 PKR (~US$0.12; 100 PKR = US$0.60) per kg of locusts. The programme was stopped after funding ran out when locals submitted 20 tonnes of locusts.

 

The country's food ministry wants to expand the programme across the country.

 

Hi-Tech Feeds, the biggest animal feed producer in Pakistan, substituted 10% of soybean in its poultry feed with the harvested locusts.

 

Muhammad Athar, Hi-Tech Feeds general manager said the new product has been successfully tested on 500 broiler hens.

 

The recent locust invasion in Pakistan, the worst in 25 years, destroyed harvests in the country's major agriculture areas. Pakistan has already announced a national emergency and has requested international aid.

 

While this programme doesn't provide a solution to the invasion, it does provide affected farmers with a new revenue stream and reduce the pressure on the government to quickly distribute locust pesticides.

 

UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said Pakistan will lose US$5 billion if it were to lose 25% of its crops. This could also result in higher prices for crops, affecting food security.

 

-      Reuters