With an army of ducks. China fights locusts in Pakistan

   

China plans to send an army of 100,000 ducks to help Pakistan fight locust outbreak, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

"Bird Corps" that will eat locusts from east China's Zhejiang Province after a visit by a team of Chinese experts earlier to Pakistan will be sent to Pakistan to advise on dealing with the locust infestation, the worst in 20 years, according to the "Ningbo Evening" newspaper.

China deployed ducks, which naturally feed on insects as part of its diet, to combat a similar invasion in northwest China's Xinjiang Province two decades ago, as these birds have proven effective in eradicating locusts.

Using ducks is less costly and more harmful to the environment than using pesticides, the newspaper quoted Lu Lizhi, a researcher with the Zhejiang Regional Institute of Agricultural Technology, who said: "Ducks are more suitable for this task than other poultry, such as chickens. Ducks like to stay in groups So it is easier to manage than chicken. "

He explained that the duck can also eat more than 200 gras per day, compared to only seventy gras eat by the chicken.

Pakistan was also invaded by locust swarms last year, as it spoiled the country's cotton crop, while now threatening the wheat crop, the Associated Press reported.