Argentina officials on Monday said the country is facing the worst plague of locusts it has seen in 60 years, the New York Times reported. Senasa, the government’s agricultural agency has teamed up with provincial authorities to help farmers control the infestation, especially in the dry forests in the country's north. However, officials fear their efforts might not be enough to prevent the insects from destroying the grasslands where cattle graze as well as key crops such as cotton and sunflowers.

Diego Quiroga, Senasa’s chief of vegetative protection, said they are now scrambling to contain the damage as “it’s impossible to eradicate; the plague has already established itself.” The locusts, which started appearing in small pockets in June, have now spread over a massive stretch in the country, thriving in the mild and rainy weather. The locusts are still small at the moment, but are expected to grow into vicious flying swarms in the next 10 days, and will set out in search of food. Officials said this would make combating them inordinately difficult.

A United Nations agency, the Food and Agriculture Organisation had warned in November that that climate change could contribute to locust infestations in Africa. Local authorities in Argentina had also issued a similar notification last year, saying the locust numbers are rising. This year, farmers are blaming the government for not taking these warnings seriously.

According to the report, Argentina has had a history of locust crises, battling them for at least two centuries. One of its oldest agricultural policies was a government programme to combat locusts set up in 1891.