“Everything that is green is at risk right now”

Jose Abelardo Mai

Organization for Plant and Animal Health has issued an alert to all member countries including Belize saying that the plague of the Central American locust has caused serious economic damage due to its invasions for centuries. OIRSA says that experts are predicting that due to environmental conditions and biological cycles of this species, high risks locust outbreaks are expected to occur between the years 2020 and 2022, which could greatly affect regional agriculture.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Area Representative for OW South

“Everything that is green is at risk right now. Right now we have the corn is about three feet tall. The rains help it a lot. Everything is green and beautiful right now. We are hoping a good crop this year so farmers can come out from the indebtedness they are in but if this ever comes in we can forget that. These animals migrate a hundred and fifty kilometers per day. You will have them here in quite a short while. So we just have to hope and pray that they don’t finish damage our agriculture sector.”