Locusts may not overwhelm, but India can't let guard down: FAO expert

Central and northern states aren't ideal breeding grounds and South India might not see any attack; Rajasthan will be under threat for next few months

India might not be overwhelmed by desert locusts because their current resting spots in UP, MP and Maharashtra do not provide ideal breeding grounds. Nevertheless, the country should not lower its guard as new swarms are expected to reach West Rajasthan by early July, said Keith Cressman, FAO's Secretary of The Commission for Controlling Desert Locust in South West Asia.

The new swarms will come from the Eastern part of Africa.

Cressman, who has been studying the movement of desert locusts for years in FAO and is one of its foremost experts on the pest and its behaviour, said that