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Rajasthan reported over 33 per cent crop loss from farms that faced locust attacks in some parts of the country last year, while a few others have reported loss below 33 per cent crop loss on affected farms, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has said.

The locusts attacked at least 10 States last year with three States — Punjab, Bihar and Chhattisgarh — reporting no crop loss.

On the other hand, Haryana reported minimal crop loss that was below the norms for providing any compensation, Tomar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Besides Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Haryana, other States to report locust attack were Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Giving details about the crop loss, Tomar said Uttar Pradesh reported a nominal crop loss in 202.9 hectares. Madhya Pradesh reported a partial crop loss of 10-15 per cent on 4,400 hectares.

Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Gujarat reported crop loss of below 33 per cent on 805.80 hectares, 292.4 hectares, and 6832.20 hectares, respectively.

However, the Rajasthan government reported crop loss of above 33 per cent on 489.72 hectares.

On the crop loss during 2019-20, Tomar said Rajasthan and Gujarat governments had reported crop loss on 1,79,584 hectares and 19,313.14 hectares, respectively.

Control measures

To strengthen the ground control capabilities, 70 new equipment were procured from the UK to increase the number of ground control teams to 104. Additionally, 55 vehicles were procured to strengthen the control potential.

The minister said that drones, a Bell helicopter and customised Mi17 Helicopter of Indian Air Force were deployed for locust control.

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