Grasshoppers are everywhere now. It's an invasion.
«It is certainly not possible to govern it - says the mayor of Ottana, Franco Saba - they are doing about 40 disinfestations a day . In my opinion, Laore should have done at least 80-100».
We need more men and equipment. Here is the request raised by the mayors of central Sardinia to try to stem the devastation.
The locusts are threatening, they cover an area that exceeds 40,000 hectares.
The numbers pitted by Laore (1746 points treated, from 20 March) reveal commitment but also tell of a huge mountain almost impossible to climb .
From Fao, then, they point the finger at the man. On overgrazing. "The soil is stamped by the hooves of the cattle, thus becoming very compact - explains Alexandre Latchininsky, FAO head of locust management -. This is what Moroccan locusts like. These are exactly the conditions that females seek to lay their eggs. Grazing pressure must be reduced » .
The comings and goings are continuous. The pick-ups break the hesitation and hit the countryside from the early hours of the morning.
At the moment there are about forty vehicles fielded by Laore. Marcello Onorato, director of Laore: «We are fighting, we need patience».
