According to the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Livestock, João Cunha, cited by Angop, who arrived Monday in Menongue, capital of Cuando Cubango, the intervention with aerial means and insecticides in these regions will happen soon.
In Cuando Cubando province, the municipalities of Rivungo, Cuangar, Mavinga and Dirico have been suffering for more than six months with frequent plagues of locusts, while in Cunene the insects appeared last week.
In Cunene, the most affected municipalities are Namacunde, Cuanhama and Ombandja, with locusts having destroyed more than 30 ploughs in the latter region.
On the subject, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, António de Assis, said Monday that the fight against the plague of locusts will begin Friday.
"Measures are being executed in order to control the plague situation, we already have teams on the ground working on controlling the plague. We are also currently reinforcing the positions in Cuando Cubango and in relation to Cunene the notification is from Friday and we also have teams working in this direction," he said.
The governor stressed that before the intervention studies are necessary to preserve other living beings, namely the protection of birds, cattle and the man himself.
According to Francisco de Assis, the fight should be a block, so surveillance teams were created, taking into account that they leave eggs, which if not controlled can lead to the return of the plague.
"We are reinforcing the capacity of technical means, namely insecticides, sprayers, nebulizers, atomizers, because it is necessary to clarify a kind of myth that has been created, [that] problems of these locusts are solved with aerial spraying, which is not true. It is necessary to study and verify the positions as it behaves in our territory", he stressed.
António de Assis stressed that the fight against the plague as presented in Ondjiva, the capital of Cunene, cannot be carried out with aerial means.
"It is on the ground in Ondjiva, it is not possible to use these insecticides, which are strong, and launch them in the air anyway. We, the Ministry of Agriculture, are receiving from the Air Force, from the Armed Forces, unconditional support, which is allowing us to develop all the actions that we are already developing on the ground. Therefore, the Government is not idle, it is aware of the issue and all measures will be taken to mitigate the effects of this plague in our country", he said.
The referred commission is coordinated by the Minister of State and Head of the Security House of the President of the Republic, Pedro Sebastião, and by the Minister of State for the Social Area, Carolina Cerqueira, and integrates the ministers of Interior, Territory Administration and State Reform, Agriculture and Fisheries, Culture, Tourism and Environment and the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA).
