In late January, Bolivian producers in the region of Santa Cruz reported the first outbreak of a plague of locusts, which initially only affected 220 hectares and was rated as stationary. In early February, however, the infected areas multiplied and surpassed 1,200 hectares. So far, the crops affected are of maize, sorghum, grass, peanut, and citrus.
It's worth noting that in early 2016 Argentina was affected by the greatest plague reported in 60 years, with more than 700,000 hectares affected. Argentine agencies took preventive measures so that the plague wouldn't affect them again in the summer of 2017. However, nobody thought that this pest could spread to other regions, a hypothesis that different Bolivian authorities have voiced. "The locusts entered the country from northern Argentina, specifically through the province of Salta," said the Minister of Rural Development.
On Wednesday, February 8, the Senave (National Quality and Plant and Seed Health Service) declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, a region which supplies an average of 80% of the country's domestic food. The government has confirmed that they would allocate 720,000 euro to combat this plague. However, the minister said that "the locust can't be exterminated. It will survive any type of intervention and we must learn to live with it."
As the Bolivian government lacks experience with this kind of plague, it has requested the support of Argentina's Senasa, which will assist them to combat this scourge. Bolivia has already started fumigating the crops, a process that will last nearly two weeks.