Locust cloud surveillance increases depending on the heat reaching RS

With the highest temperatures expected to reach Rio Grande do Sul this Saturday (18) and Sunday (19), agricultural inspectors from the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr) in municipalities on the western and northwestern border of the State increase surveillance about the possible entry of the locust cloud from Argentina. “With this climate condition, we need to be prepared”, warns the head of Seapdr’s Plant Health Defense Division, Ricardo Felicetti.

The agricultural engineer highlights his concern about the locust cloud that is in Corrientes, Argentina, 130 kilometers from the municipality of Barra do Quaraí in Rio Grande do Sul. “With the rise in temperatures this weekend, we are apprehensive, but prepared in case of a possible occurrence of the plague in Rio Grande do Sul. We have an emergency operational plan.”

According to him, there was a meeting to address operational issues in this regard this Friday (17) with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), Ibama, the Secretariat for the Environment and Infrastructure of RS (Sema) and the Henrique Luis Roessler State Environmental Protection Foundation (Fepam). “We also talked about the issue of emergency resources to work on suppressing locust outbreaks.”

Felicetti informs that rural producers should be aware of possible insect outbreaks and report their presence immediately to the Seapdr agricultural defense inspectorate, or to the nearest Emater/RS-Ascar municipal office.