After attacks in several African countries, then Pakistan and most recently India, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) says Bangladesh could also face a locust attack. But the risk is greater next year than this year.

Since late last year, locusts have attacked several African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, causing extensive crop damage. Early this year, locust attacks were reported to have caused extensive crop damage in Pakistan, where a state of emergency was declared because of them.

Locusts then entered Punjab in India, in a swarm spread over three kilometres. In response, alerts have been issued in several states around Punjab.

After that, Bangladesh's agriculture ministry and the agencies under it began considering the issue.

AZM Sabbir Ibne Jahan, a director at the DAE, told BBC Bangla that the agriculture ministry sent them a letter on Monday asking them to stay alert and prepared for locust attacks.

"We fear these locusts could come to Bangladesh after Pakistan and India. But as far as we can tell, there is no great risk this year; we need to be careful about next year, though," he said.

He explained that locusts move according to the movement of warm air and look for a new place as soon as food runs out in one place, which is why the department fears they could attack Bangladesh too.

Mr Jahan said they were keeping in touch with the government and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to prevent a possible locust attack.

But he said there had been no locust attack in this region in the past 55 years.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.