China could deploy around 0.1 million ducks to neighbouring country Pakistan to help tackle swarms of crop-eating locusts, according to latest reports.

Pakistan declared an emergency earlier this month saying locust numbers were the worst in more than two decades.

An agricultural expert behind the scheme says a single duck can eat more than 200 locusts a day and can be more effective than pesticides.However, another researcher questioned whether the ducks would be effective.Millions of the insects have also been devastating crops in parts of East Africa.

The Chinese government announced this week it was sending a team of experts to Pakistan to develop "targeted programms" against the locusts.