Yemen 24: A Webblog about Yemen

By Moneer Al-Omari SANA'A, June 19 - Agricultural and pest control officials told media outlets of a desert locust outbreak in Marib and Al-Jawf after it was confined to Al-Mahrah and Hadramout governorates and to a lesser degree in Shabwa governorate. However, such allegations were denied by the general director of the Desert Locusts Control Center, Abdu Al-Rumaih who noted that his center's field committees recorded only single cases of some locusts, but not in swarms. Al-Rumaih added that the field teams surveyed many areas in Marib and detected single cases of locusts in Al-Falag, with 66 locusts in each hectare. The same finding applies to the Al-Zunimah area, an area planted with grains and fodder, with a lower percentage than recorded in Al-Falag. Similarly, locals in Marib denied information by official experts, declaring that locusts exist in a very small percentage. Marib Press reported many locals in Marib as saying, "Their governorate is not afflicted