Ethiopia To Buy 5 Airplanes To Combat Desert Locust

The Ministry of Agriculture said the country is undergoing biding to buy five airplanes that will significantly assist the prevention activities of swarm infestation that threats agricultural production.

Agriculture State Minister Mandefro Nigussie told The Ethiopian Herald that increasing the number of aerial sprayers is crucial to effectively prevent the swarm that currently is posing threats in some parts of Somali regional state.

He said the country is under process to buy five airplanes of which two are surveyors and the remaining three are sprayers.

The total cost for the plane is $10 million and the county has secured the finance, he added

France and Israel are among the seven countries that are participating in the bidding process, he said.

According to Mandefro, the purchase will be completed this Ethiopian fiscal year.