Kabul - The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) with collaboration of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is hosting the 26th session of the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in Southwest Asia (SWAC) which will be held in Kabul on 15-17 December 2008. The SWAC was established on 15 December 1964 and has four member countries - Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan.

Representatives from four member countries and FAO will participate in the session. The main activity of the session is to report on annual 30-day joint border survey conducted during the spring of 2007 and 2008 in Pakistan and Iran. Since 1995 when the survey was re-established, the 30-day survey has been conducted every year in April which is also a model for other countries in other regions to follow. Other Commission activities will concentrate on strengthening national capacity of Member Countries in survey, reporting, training, early warning and control. This session will also look into two new aspects - planning and environmentally safer control operations.

Afghanistan is on the margins of the distribution of Desert Locust, there are some desert areas close to the borders with Iran and Pakistan (from Herat in the west to Kandahar in the south) that are favourable for Desert Locust breeding, but in fact the Desert Locust rarely bothers Afghanistan. In the 1990’s there was the existence of a very large locust on trees in western Afghanistan, but it proved not to be Desert Locust. In fact the last time Afghanistan suffered a major outbreak was in 1953. It occurred in Helmand valley in the south-west of the country close to the Iranian border. In April/May 1959 swarms also landed in Afghanistan, but did little serious damage since they quickly moved on.

Holding such gatherings will help preparation of contingency plan to protect Afghanistan in case of desert locust attack in future.