ISLAMABAD - At least 20 micro-sprayers from the UK arrived in Pakistan yesterday that will help immediately to tackle the devastating desert locust swarms, the British High Commission said yesterday.
They are the first 20 of 50 sprayers as part of a UK aid package of £1m to support the government of Pakistan to tackle the locust outbreak, which has been declared a national emergency, a BHC statement said.
The UK funding will ensure 50 sprayers - 20 of which have arrived - to be sent to control locusts and help to ensure food security.
The 1,300 PPE kits will help ensure surveillance and control operations can continue safely through the coronavirus pandemic, the BHC said. Some 18,000 vulnerable farmers are helped, the statement said.
The sprayers are from UK-based company, Micron Sprayers Ltd. It has over 50 years of industry experience, and its products are used in over a hundred countries across the globe.
Underlining the close trading relationship between the UK and Pakistan, Micron Sprayers Ltd is also working on a separate agreement to supply 83 sprayers to the National Disaster Management Authority in Pakistan. This agreement is not funded by the UK aid.
UK aid has given £1 million to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to tackle swarms of locusts until 30 September 2020, as part of our help support food security in Pakistan.
Dr Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, spoke at a ceremony to hand over the sprayers to the Pakistan Government today. He said: “Make no mistake, this locust outbreak is a big challenge. That is why the UK, through aid to FAO, has worked to ensure these UK-manufactured crop sprayers get to Pakistan as soon as possible,” the statement said.
The High Commissioner handed over the UK sprayers at the ceremony here to Syed Fakhr Imam, Federal Secretary, Omar Hamid Khan from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research; and Mina Dowlatchahi, Country Representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, alongside DFID Pakistan Director Annabel Gerry.