The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture has observed small swarms of locusts during the last weekend (24-23 April) in towns in the Arava region. The teams of the phytosanitary protection and inspection services of the Ministry of Agriculture are in place, monitoring their progress and quantity, in order to formulate ways to treat them to avoid damage to agriculture and the environment.

The Ministry of Agriculture explains that the lobster that arrived in Israel is sexually mature (according to its yellow color), a fact that reduces the fear of harm due to the lobsters' feeding, but on the other hand increases the fear of reproduction. The lobster needs wet sand to breed and this can be found on the prairie today only in irrigated agricultural areas, making it easier to hunt in these areas.

As part of the preparations for the possibility of locust swarms entering Israeli territory in the coming days, the inspection and phytosanitary protection services of the Ministry of Agriculture were carried out with action teams already deployed throughout the south, from Eilat up to the Negev and Arava, and served as a "field patrol" and monitored their progress in the air. According to the information that was collected, aerial and ground spray equipment will be activated to destroy them and prevent them from spreading. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is in constant contact with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which monitors the global movement of locust swarms, and according to reports received from the source, the lobster that entered Israel is from Jordan, following unusual rains in Sudan recently.

The last time Israel had problems of this kind was in 2013, when the Ministry of Agriculture anticipated the entry of locusts and their movement from Eilat to the Negev. During the eradication of the phenomenon until its culmination, teams from the Ministry of Agriculture worked to monitor the areas and fumigate from the ground and air daily, 24 hours, both from the air and from the ground, until its completion. and this did not leave any real damage to the local agriculture.

The desert locust is a major agricultural pest of plants and originates from Sudan. Lobsters feed on a wide variety of species of leafy plants, flowers, fruits, seeds, and tree bark. Its prevalence in the country depends, among other things, on the climate, the locust flocks, their size and the speed of migration.

"We reinforced the office staff in the field and were on alert to minimize the potential for surprise and prepare according to each scenario. At this point, the numbers are not worrisome. We follow all the time. Ministry staff he knows how to handle and treat cases of this type, as we have done in the past, "said Yoav Motro, in charge of field teams for locust monitoring at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It should be noted that locust swarms do not endanger humans or animals, and are only a "nuisance" in the air and harmful to agriculture. Israel is logistically and professionally prepared for such an ongoing event.