Inner Mongolia is being hit hard by a locust plague that is stripping the area's grasslands, reported Tuesday's China Daily.

Legions of the ravenous grasshoppers have attacked some 10 million hectares across the region's plains -10 per cent of the total grassland area in the North China

autonomous region - a report by the China Central Television Station (CCTV) said.

Locusts began to reproduce at the end of July and they are now expanding their territory at a rate of 20,000 hectares every day, the report said.

They are expected to cause a direct economic loss of 900 million yuan (US$109 million), officials estimate, while indirect economic losses could amount to 4 billion yuan (US$480 million).

"My income this year will decrease by at least 40 to 50 per cent," a herdsman was quoted by CCTV as saying.

More than 667 hectares belonging to the herdsman have been pulverized by the voracious insects.

"Hundreds of my sheep cannot find enough to eat now," he said.

The herder's income this year is likely to be some 10,000 yuan (US$1,200), while his previous annual income was more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,400), he said.

Although locust plagues erupting from time to time are unavoidable, mankind can still keep them under control if effective measures are adopted in time, experts have pointed out.

According to Zhang Zhuoran, an official in charge of Inner Mongolian grassland preservation, a lack of funds has hampered sundry efforts to quell the outbreak.

Among the total area affected, 5.3 million hectares have been most seriously hit.

"But we only have money to treat 25 per cent of the seriously harmed land.

We just don't have the money now," Zhang said.

The central government invested 26 million yuan (US$3.2 million) in the autonomous region's fight against locusts this year.

The Inner Mongolian government also made an additional investment of 40 million yuan (US$4.8 million) in the fight against the insects.

But it needs about 160 million yuan (US$19 million) in all to spray insecticides in only the seriously hit areas.

The local government is considering collecting fees among herdsmen, but many such people say they cannot afford such a tab.

"If I pay 0.5 yuan (6 US cents) per mu (one 15th of a hectare), I have to pay 5,000 yuan (US$600) for the meadow I own," a herdsman was quoted by CCTV as saying.

"The payment is nearly half of my annual income. I am unable to afford that," he said.

China is one of the countries where locust plagues are the most frequent, sources said.

A total of 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions are affected by clouds of locusts.

Source: China Daily