EGYPT: Farmers fight palm tree pests in Wadi al-Jadid

DUBAI Sunday, November 09, 2008 (IRIN) - On 5 October, farmer Muhammad Tulaib woke up to the news that red palm weevils - a large species of beetle locally known as ‘sussit el-nakhil’ - were found in one of the oases in his home governorate of Wadi al-Jadid in the southwest of Egypt. “Everyone is panicking here. We totally depend on palm farming to earn our living,” Tulaib, a father of three who has 700 palm trees in Wadi al-Jadid, told IRIN by telephone. “The weevil is very dangerous… it is...